Evening star., 1939-06-03

that the two powerful houses who
under the same flower. Since the
red rose to battle and the Yorkist
forces a white, their struggles are
known in history as the Wars of
the Roses" 1t took a love story and
a fairy tale wedding to end them.
When Henry Tudor, the contestant
Tor the LancaStrian side, married
Elizabeth. the Yorkist heireSs, the
Tudor rose became their emblem
and it has remained the rose of
Britain's royal arms.
Rugged Thistle
SeOtland's Flower.
Scotland's floral emblem is the
thistle-a rugged but distinguished
flower. The thistle is fully qualified
to illustrate Scotland's motto, Memo
me impune lacessit" Nobody
touches me without paying for it,
The tuft OF pinkish purple bloom is
well protected by the spiky leaves
of the plant.
According to tradition, the thistle
has been the national badge of Scot
land for untold centuries, but the
date OF its formal adoption is said
to be 1923, when 1t performed valu-
able patriotic service. That was the
year of the battle of Largs. a turn
ing point in Scottish history. The
Danes had effected a night landing
on the coast and were stealing up to
the Scottish camp when one of them
stepped on thistle. He was bare
. footed, naturally. and his frightened
yell reused the Scottish army. which
vas able to drive the invaders back
to the sea.
OF course, this story has never
been proved, but it is commonly told.
and certainly there was a thistle on
Scotland'S coinage as far back as
1875.
Where England has the famous
Order of the Garter. Scotland has
the Order of the Thistle. said to
have been founded in the year 737.
| although its history from that time
is not continuous. First Lady of the
Most Ancient Order Of the Thistle
today is her majesty, Queen Eliza
beth, whose inveStiture was the lead
ing event of the poSt-coronation
visit to Scotland in July, 1887. The
ceremony took place in the Thistle
Chapel Of st. Giles Cathedral, Edin-
burgh, with every noble house in
/ Scotland represented. Among those
present were the Queens father
and mother, whose own crest con-
tains thistle. upheld in lady s
right hand. This commentaries
the marriage of Princess Jean. sec
ond daughter of King Robert II of
Scotland, to Sir John Lyon in 1872.
and the founding Of the Bowes-Lyon
family, to which Queen Elizabeth
belongs. When the Lady Elizabeth
Angela Marguerite BoweS-Lyon
married the Duke of York on April
26, 1923, her eight bridesmaids wore
headdresses of myrtle wreaths fas-
tened with the traditional white rose
OF York and a sprig Of white heather
for Scotland. And then, of course.
Princess Margaret Rose carries the
family flower in her name.
Ireland's Shamrock
For the Trinity.
The shamrock is said to have
| been chosen as Ireland's national
| flower because of its sacred asso-
citation. st. Patrick used it to teach
and illustrate the doctrine of the
Trinity.
The rose, thistle and shamrock,
which decorate the motto in the
British royal arms of our day, ap-
pear again in the coat of arms of
the young Dominion of Canada, with
lilies adding a further element of
romance. Three golden fleurs-de- lis
on sapphire blue ground formed
the banner of ancient France, and
that is the form it keeps in Canada S
crest. The rose, thistle, shamrock
and lily tWine round the motto in
| floral tribute to the fusion of two
great races-the French, who found
ed another France in the New
World, and the British, who are
themselves made up of the English,
Scottish and Irish peoples-each
with its national flower
Still, another member of Canada s
outdoor kingdom enjoys royal status
the maple tree The leaf of the
maple, with whose beauty the Ca
madam woods burn in autumn, is
also one of the country's national
emblems 1t has been immortalized
in music, too, THE Maple Leaf For
ever" is not Canada's national an
them, as is sometimes said, but it
is tune that quickens every pulse.
1t is the marching song of Canada S
soldiers, whose uniform buttons also
bear maple leaf.