vigil. On the other hand, there is a common saying with respect to
rosemary, which was once much cultivated in kitchen gardens:--
"Where rosemary flourishes the lady rules."
Vetches, from being reputed a most hardy grain, have been embodied
in the following adage:--
"A thetch will go through
The bottom of an old shoe,"
Which reminds us of the proverbial saying:--"Like a camomile bed,
The more it is trodden
The more it will spread."
The common expression:--"Worth a plum,"
Is generally said of a man who is accredited with large means, and
another adage tells us that,
"The higher the plum-tree, the riper the plum."
To live in luxury and affluence is expressed by the proverbial phrase
"To live in clover," with which may be compared the saying "Do it up in
lavender," applied to anything which is valuable and precious. A further
similar phrase is "Laid up in lavender," in allusion to the old-fashioned
custom of scenting newly-washed linen with this fragrant plant. Thus
Shenstone says:--
"Lavender, whose spikes of azure bloom
Shall be, erewhile, in arid bundles bound,
To lurk amidst the labours of her loom,
And crown her kerchiefs clean with micklc rare perfume."
According to Gerarde, the Spartans were in the habit of eating cress
with their bread, from a popular notion very generally held among the
ancients, that those who ate it became noted for their wit and decision of
character. Hence the old proverb:--