The San Francisco call., 1910-10-02

FLOWER LORE

to console her and one OF them said: s.
you are crying; mother.", II ..-.. III i..:. +.
Yes" she replied, II am weeping for.
Prussia @'44, &. a....:..: ....:- s.s,
Then controlling herseH she con
tinued !. I'VE must not content our
selves with weeping, we must act" and
putting an arm about each little lad
she endeavored to divert them by CALI
ing their attention to the great number
OF beautiful blue cornfiowers that were
growing nearby ... ~ ..@t :n.E.|....
{. go" she. said, gather. some, of those.
/: flowers and II will make wreaths for
you and crown you king Es:.: i...'.:.se-l.:
Forgetting their troubles, the little
fellows ran off and soon the mothers.
lap was filled with blossoms. !" When
the: wreath was made she placed it on
the head of her eldest son: The other
boy, the little William, begged her to =
make him one She did so,.saying as
she placed it on his little head, Crowns.
mean very little sometimes" The boy
clinched his fist and, standing erect,
said: "WhenI am a man / will punish
this Napoleon for making you feel. so I.
badly" - $. =. =. -. Il
They reached Konigsburg safely, and
who could foresee that before the close
of the century that little boy would be
crowned emperor of a united. Germany,
and that the successor of. Napoleon / j.
would. become his prisoner? 81. '.'.... 81:
:. :. William. L always loved the corn
flower because ii reminded him of his
mother and he chose it for the floral
emblem of Germany, .af-l the Germans
love the: Kaiserblumen .:.:.... "..:' ~
WHY NAME sBACHELOR BUTTON. 20:
~ Why the name, bachelor button, was
given, to the acornhower no one has
ever been able definitely to decide. One
old hotanist of the sixteenth century
tells us that it. received..its name be-
cause Of its resemblance to the ia gged.
"cloatfe buttons. anciently worn. in this
kingdome.". =. However. that may be,
there is: no botanical authority for the
: name, and in England there are II
different plants that Hat some time or
other have been known as bachelor
buttons. Besides @cornfioWer,, the. plant
is known in England as bluet. blue
bottle, blue bonnet and dloggerhead. One
queer old name is break your spec
tacles." Hawdods is another old name
and hurt sickle was given to it be-
canse the stems are very tough and
turned the edges of the reapers' siokles
in the days when reaping was done by
hand :..< .,.>..~"t '...~:..>: K. .:s: u II. 2.
" The name loggerhead is on account
of its resemblance to an old weapon
of that name, which consisted of a.
disk of iron, from the center OF which J.
projected al long handle; a conflict
between these weapons gave rise to the,
expression coming to loggerheads.
:. Thefe was a tradition among the
country folk that the plant exerted a
magical influence over the fortunes OF
lovers and it was the custom among
the young men to carry the cornflower
in their pockets to inform themselves
in regard to their love affairs. The
blossom must be picked while the
morning dew was still on it, and If
after "a hours the color was still
bright and fresh, the wearer could be
assured that he would be successful in !.
his wooing. The expression true blue"
had it's origin in this superstition. The
phrase, ITO. wear bachelor buttons
signified being unmarried. !:
IN LITERATURE
attention in literature as it deserves.
are household words in Russia, has
subject Of one of his most beautiful
poetic tales. Although not definitely
designated by Shakespeare, ii is pre-
sumed to be the plant referred to in
the Merry Wives of Windsor when +
hostess of carrying his buttons to
determine the result OF his love affair
Chaucer in the "Romaunt of the Rose"
of hue" and some writers contend that
from which Marguerite was to learn
that Goethe chose as the floral oracle
the truth regarding Faust. a
e