CHAPTER III.

VIOLET-LOVE OF THE VIOLET IN CHILDHOOD-SITUATIONS OF VIOLETS-VIOLETS OF PESTUM AUTUMN VIOLETS-VIOLETS IN CANADA-DOG VIOLET-REGARD

OF POETS FOR THE VIOLET-VIOLETS OF STRATFORDVIOLET IN THE EAST-ORIGIN OF NAME-RARITY OF SWEET VIOLET IN SCOTLAND-VIOLET SHERBET-USE

OF VIOLET IN MEDICINE-GALL ON STEM OF VIOLET.

"Fast fading violets covered up with leaves."-Keats.

VIOLETS, the white and the blue! have we not all hunted after the violets with hearts brimful of enjoyment, as we looked up first at the sunny sky, and then on the banks of the green lane where we wandered; or, almost too busy for a selection, gathered them as they lay scattered plentifully in our pathway? Where is the heart to which the wild violet does not speak of child

hood? Where is he to whom its odour does not breathe of holiday seasons and healthful joy? How well can they who spent their childhood in the country, and knew the delights of a little garden of their own, share in the feelings with which Miss Bowles describes the simple beauties of her garden plot!

"And thriving plants were there, though not of price, No puny children of a foreign soil,

But hardy natives of our own dear earth;

From many a field, and bank, and streamlet side,
Transplanted, careful, with the adhering mould.
The primrose, with her large indented leaves,
And many blossoms, pale, expanded there,
With wild anemone and hyacinth,

And languid cowslip, lady of the mead;

And violets' mingled lines of every sort,

Blue, white and purple. The more fragrant white,
E'en from that very root, in many a patch,

Extended wide, still scents the garden round."

Like its companion the primrose, the violet is a native of both hemispheres, and hardily defies the blasts of the Alpine mountain, often growing at a height far above the level of the sea; while in our own woods and meadows, it

braves the east winds of the early spring. Its blossom cheers the bleak Norway and the snowy Magellan. It blooms in winter beneath the tall palm of Africa; furnishes the poet of Arabia with a subject of song, or a choice simile, and bids the native of Syria or China turn from his rich roses and gorgeous chrysanthemums, to mark its humbler beauty. It is abundant in the isles of the Mediterranean, and was constantly seen in the Athenian market, among the flowers which were there exposed to sale. Even when the snow covered the ground, the Athenians succeeded in rearing it in their gardens, and it was to be found in Athens in almost every season.

The far-famed roses of the ancient Pæstum, which bloomed twice in the year, and which 66 now a Virgil, now an Ovid, sang," were said to arrest the voyager on his course by their delicious odours; but Pæstum equally boasted of its violets, "which," says Mr. Rogers, in a note on a passage in his 'Pleasures of Memory,' were as proverbial as the roses, and mentioned

by Martial." That ancient city is changed now, in all but its flowers, yet

"The air is sweet with violets running wild,

'Mid broken sculptures, and fallen capitals.'

The author of 'The Backwoods of Canada,' speaking of this flower says, "of violets we have here every shade of colour, size, and shape, looking only like the delightful viola odorata (sweet Violet) of our home woodlands; yet I know not why we should quarrel with these meek daughters of the spring, because they want the fragrance of their more favoured sisters. Many of your wood violets, though very beautiful, are also devoid of scent; here variety of colour ought to make some amends for want of perfume. We have violets of every shade, of blue, some veined with purple, others shaded with a darker hue. We have the delicate white, pencilled with purple; the bright brimstone, coloured with black veining; the pale primrose with dark blue veins-the two latter are remarkable for the luxuriance and size of their

leaves-the flowers spring in bunches, several from each joint, and are succeeded by large capsules, covered with thick white cottony down. There is a species of violet that grows in the woods, the leaves of which are exceedingly large, so are the seed-vessels; but the flower is so small and insignificant, that it is only to be observed by a close examination of the plant; this has given rise to the vague belief that it blooms underground. The flowers are of a pale yellow."

In our English meadows it is very common for the same root which supplied us with the spring violet, to blossom again in winter, and it will sometimes yield a fine but less scented flower at Christmas. Besides the sweet purple violet (Víola odorata) and its white variety, there are five native species. The common dog violet (Víola canína) often gives a blue or lilac colour to the spot of rugged rock where it hangs its cheerful clusters. It may be seen in the midst of summer, when the fragrant violet has left us, enlivening the moist bank, and flourishing under