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thcrine tables, which were of such immense value, that when the
Romans reproached their wives for their extravagance in jewels,
they were wont to retort and (literally) “ turn the tables ” upon
their husbands. Evelyn tells us, that such a table was that
of Cicero, “ which cost him 10,000 sesterces; such another had
Asinius Galliis. That of King Tuba was sold for 15,000; and
yet that of the Mauritanian Ptolemy was far richer, containing
four feet and a half diameter, three inches thick, which is reputed
to have been sold for its weight in gold.” Some centuries ago.
Maple-wood was in great request for bowls and trenchers. Tlie
unfortunate Fair Rosamond is reputed to have drunk her fatal
draught of poison from a Maple bowl; and the mediæval drinking-
vessels, known as mazers, were chiefly made of this material—
deriving their name from the Dutch Maeser, Maple. On May-day,
in Cornwall, the young men proceed, at daybreak, to the country,
and strip the Maple (or Sycamore) trees—there called May-trees—
of all their young branches, to make whistles, and with these shrill
musical instruments they enliven their way home with “ May
music.” In Germany, the Maple is regarded with much superstitious
reverence. There existed formerly, in Alsace, a curious
belief that bats possessed the power of rendering the eggs of storks
unfruitful. When once a stork’s egg was touched by a bat, it
became sterile; and so, in order to preserve it, the stork placed in
its nest some branches of the Maple, and tlie wonderful power of this
tree sufficed to frighten away every intruding hat. De G ubernatis
relates a Hungarian fairy tale, in which the Maple plays a conspicuous
part. According to this legend, a king had three daughters,
one of whom, a beautiful blonde, was in love with a shepherd,
who charmed her with delightful music he produced from a flute.
One night, the king, the princess, and the shepherd, were disturbed
hy disquieting dreams. The king dreamt that his crown luid lost
its diamonds ; the princess that she had visited her mother’s tomb
and was unable to get away from, it; the shepherd that two fallow
deer had devoured the best lamb in his flock. After this dream, the
king called his three daughters to him, and announced to them that
she who should first bring to him a basket of Strawberries should
become his pet daugliter, and inherit his crown and seven kingdoms.
The three daughters hastened to a neighbouring hill to
gather the Strawberries. There, setting down their baskets, each
one in turn wished that her basket miglvt be filled with fruit. The
wishes of the two elder sisters were unheeded ; but wlien it came
to the blonde’s turn, her wish was no sooner expressed, than her
basket was filled with Strawberries. At this sight, the two sisters,
mad with envy, fell upon the poor blonde, and slew her ; then,
having buried her under an old Maple-tree, they broke her basket
in two, and divided the Strawberries between them. On their
return to the palace, they told the king that their sister had been
devoured by a fallow deer. On hearing this sad news, the unhappy
p f a n t 15)01*0, Ií90g0r^/, cmël l5)Lji*iq/’,
father exclaimed : “ Alas! I have lost the most precious diamond
of my crown.” At the approach of the new moon, the shepherd
took up his flute to play a tune; but it was mute, for the fair
princess was no longer there to listen to its tuneful notes. Meanwhile,
on the third night, there sprang from the stem of the old
Maple on the hill a new shoot, on the spot where the poor princess
liad met her cruel death. The shepherd, happening to pass by, saw
this fresh shoot from the Maple, and thought he would make from
it a new flute. So he cut the Maple-shoot, and from it fashioned
a flute ; but the moment he placed it to his lips, the flute sang,
“ Play, play, dearest. Once I was a king’s daughter ; then I was
a Maple-shoot ; now I am a flute made from the Maple-shoot.”
The shepherd rushed off with the flute to the king, who put it to
his lips, when instantly it sang, “ Play, play, my father. Once, &c.”
Then the two wicked sisters approached, and each in turn put the
flute to her lips—only, however, to hear it hiss, “ Play, play,
murderess. Once, &c.” Then the king, becoming aware of the
sisters’ wickedness, cursed them, and drove them with bitter
reproaches from his palace into the wide world. The Maple has
been made tlie emblem of reserve, because its flowers are late in
opening, and slow to fall. A curious belief exists in some parts
of England, that the Maple can confer longevity on children, if
they are passed through its branches. In West Grinstead Park,
Sussex, was an old Maple much used for this purpose, and, upon a
rumour reaching the parish, that the ancient tree was to be felled,
many petitions were made that it might be spared. Pliny says
that Maple-root, pounded, is a remedy for pains in the liver, and
Gerarde states that, steeped in wine, it is useful in stopping pain
in the side. He quotes a verse from Sammonicus, wliich he thus
translates :—
“ Thy harmless side if sharp disease invade,
In hissing water quench a heated stone :
This drink. Or Maple-root in powder made.
Take off in wine, a present med’cine known.”
M A R G U E R IT E .—The Daisy {Beilisperennis), which Chaucer
called “ douce Margarette,” derives its ITench name of Marguerite
from its supposed resemblance to a pearl. In Germany,
indeed, it is known as the Meadow-pearl, and Chaucer, in describing
the flower, says:— ((And of a perle fine orientall,
Her white croune was imaked all.”
The Greek word for pearl, Margarites, became in Latin Margarita,
remained the same in Italian, and in French was spelt Marguerite;
the same word in each language indicating both the pearl and the
flower we call Daisy. Tliis fiower was formerly employed in the
treatment of certain female complaints, and on that account,
perhaps, was dedicated by the Monks to St. Margaret of Cortona.
Chaucer, in error, referred the name Margaret, as bestowed on the
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