influence of the bow upon leaf and flower had called forth the fragrance, and sung of its wonder-working power upon vegetation.

On the first of April, the Roman ladies were accustomed to bathe beneath the myrtle trees, and crowned with its leaves, to proceed thence to the shrine of Venus and offer sacrifice.

Steeped in their wine, the ancients believed that the myrtle bough improved its flavour, and added to its invigorating property; it was therefore regarded by them as an emblem of festivity. The invalid too hoped for restoration to health by using the berries as a medicine, and the magistrate of Athens wore it about his head as a symbol of office.

The magisterial wreaths were composed by some of those artists whose profession it was to form garlands, and to construct letters, the flowers of which should be symbolical of different ideas. The meaning of these wreaths or epistles was as fully understood by the great body of the people, as the language of flowers is recognised in the Eastern harem. The wild

olive, or the wreath of laurel or parsley, which crowned the brow of the successful combatant, appealed to the imagination of his countrymen, and was deemed by the Grecian hero as a wellunderstood token of applause. It was with the desire of giving to the dead that which they had loved in life, that the ancients crowned the corpse with myrtle. The practice was long continued, till the fathers of the church at length forbade it, because it was taken from heathen people; but so old and pleasing a custom-one which expressed so well the feelings of the mourner-was not easily done away, and the remains of it reached, in our own land, even down to the present century, when the dead were enwreathed with flowers, or a chaplet hung up in the church or laid upon the tomb.

We learn, from Evelyn, that myrtles were introduced into England long before the invention of greenhouses. It is, however, supposed that our forefathers had some means of sheltering them from the cold, which was apparently more severe in the winter of past years than at present.

Few people make greater use of the myrtle in modern times than do the Swiss. They dye their cloth with its berries, and use them as an ingredient in tanning. They improve their brandy with some admixture of its fruit; and when winter comes down upon the mountains, and renders the hearth the meeting-place of friends and families, then the trunks and stems of the myrtle make excellent firewood, and its bright blaze is reflected on the happy faces of many a peasant's fireside.

The myrtle belongs to the natural order myrtacea, which contains some other plants besides those strictly termed myrtles, though all very similar in appearance. They have all dotted leaves, and contain a fragrant oil. Their blossoms-the joy of plants, as Pliny terms themare all beautiful. They contain numerous stamens, arranged in circular rows around the pistil or central column of the flower. Their flowers are usually white or red.

To this order belong the pomegranate, with its rich red blossoms and glossy green leaves,

and the luscious guava of the Indies. The allspice is the berry of a shrub formerly called myrtle (Myrtus piménto), but it now bears the latter name only, and is not considered a myrtle: this tree is a native of Jamaica. To this belong also the Eucalyptus, or gum-tree, of Australia, which is among the loftiest timber trees of the forests of that country, and the aromatic clove (Caryophyllus), every part of which possesses considerable fragrance, while its fruit is considered one of the hottest of aromatic substances.

CHAPTER IX.

PASSION

FLOWER-SOLITUDE WOODS OF AMERICA

NATIVE REGIONS OF PASSION FLOWER FRUITS OF

PASSION-FLOWER-GRANADILLA-ORIGIN OF THE NAME OF PASSION-FLOWER-REVERENCE PAID TO THIS FLOWER ON SOME PARTS OF THE CONTINENT.

And the faint passion-flower, the sad and holy,
Tells of diviner hopes.

Mrs. Hemans.

To those who are not fond of the wild scenes of nature, it may seem strange that Audubon should have chosen to dwell among the woods, to watch the birds, to listen to their notes, and mark their rising and retiring and various habits. Yet he lived among these free creatures of air till he regarded them with so strong a sympathy, that he imagined them possessed of feelings such as actuate the human bosom, and thought, as he lingered among the vast soli