The Folk-lore of Plants Part 13

and:--

"Those that eat cherries with great persons shall have their eyes squirted out with the stones."

A man who makes a great show without a corresponding practice is said to be like "fig-tree fuel, much smoke and little fire," and another adage says:--

"Peel a fig for your friend, and a peach for your enemy."

This proverb, however, is not quite clear when applied to this country.

"To peel a fig, so far as we are concerned," writes Mr. Hazlitt[2], "can have no significance, except that we should not regard it as a friendly service; but, in fact, the proverb is merely a translation from the Spanish, and in that language and country the phrase carries a very full meaning, as no one would probably like to eat a fig without being sure that the fruit had not been tampered with. The whole saying is, however, rather unintelligible. 'Peeling a peach' would be treated anywhere as a dubious attention."

Of the many proverbs connected with thorns, there is the true one which tells us how,

"He that goes barefoot must not plant thorns,"

The meaning of which is self-evident, and the person who lives in a chronic state of uneasiness is said to, "sit on thorns." Then there is the oft-quoted adage:--

"While thy shoe is on thy foot, tread upon the thorns."

On the other hand, that no position in life is exempt from trouble of some kind is embodied in this proverb:--

"Wherever a man dwells he shall be sure to have a thorn bush near his door,"

which Ray also explains in its literal sense, remarking that there "are few places in England where a man can dwell, but he shall have one near him." Then, again, thorns are commonly said to "make the greatest crackling," and "the thorn comes forth with its point forward."

Many a great man has wished himself poor and obscure in his hours of adversity, a sentiment contained in the following proverb:--

"The pine wishes herself a shrub when the axe is at her root."

A quaint phrase applied to those who expect events to take an unnatural turn is:--

"Would you have potatoes grow by the pot-side?"

Amongst some of the other numerous proverbs may be mentioned a few relating to the apple; one of these reminding us that,

"An apple, an egg, and a nut, You may eat after a s.l.u.t."

Selfishness in giving is thus expressed:--

"To give an apple where there is an orchard."

And the idea of worthlessness is often referred to as when it is said that "There is small choice in rotten apples," with which may be compared another which warns us of the contagious effects of bad influence:--

"The rotten apple injures its neighbour."

The utter dissimilarity which often exists between two persons, or things, is jocularly enjoined in the familiar adage:--

"As like as an apple is to a lobster,"

And the folly of taking what one knows is paltry or bad has given rise to an instructive proverb:--

"Better give an apple than eat it."

The folly of expecting good results from the most unreasonable causes is the subject of the following old adage:--

"Plant the crab where you will, it will never bear pippins."

The crab tree has also been made the subject of several amusing rhymes, one of which is as follows:--

"The crab of the wood is sauce very good for the crab of the sea, But the wood of the crab is sauce for a drab that will not her husband obey."

The coolness of the cuc.u.mber has long ago become proverbial for a person of a cold collected nature, "As cool as a cuc.u.mber," and the man who not only makes unreasonable requests, but equally expects them to be gratified, is said to "ask an elm-tree for pears." Then, again, foolish persons who have no power of observation, are likened to "a blind goose that knows not a fox from a fern bush."

The willow has long been a proverbial symbol of sadness, and on this account it was customary for those who were forsaken in love to wear a garland made of willow. Thus in "Oth.e.l.lo," Desdemona (Act iv. sc. 3) antic.i.p.ating her death, says:--

"My mother had a maid called Barbara: She was in love; and he she loved proved mad, And did forsake her: she had a song of willow; An old thing 'twas, but it expressed her fortune, And she died singing it: that song to-night Will not go from my mind."

According to another adage:--

"Willows are weak, yet they bind other wood,"

The significance of which is clear. Then, again, there is the not very complimentary proverbial saying, of which there are several versions:--

"A spaniel, a woman, and a walnut-tree, The more they're beaten, the better they be."

Another variation, given by Moor in his "Suffolk Words" (p. 465), is this:--

"Three things by beating better prove: A nut, an a.s.s, a woman; The cudgel from their back remove, And they'll be good for no man."

A curious phrase current in Devonshire for a young lady who jilts a man is, "She has given him turnips;" and an expressive one for those persons who in spite of every kindness are the very reverse themselves is this:--

"Though you stroke the nettle ever so kindly, yet it will sting you;"

With which may be compared a similar proverb equally suggestive:--

"He that handles a nettle tenderly is soonest stung."

The ultimate effects of perseverance, coupled with time, is thus shown:--

"With time and patience the leaf of the mulberry tree becomes satin."

A phrase current, according to Ray, in Gloucestershire for those "who always have a sad, severe, and terrific countenance," is, "He looks as if he lived on Tewkesbury mustard"--this town having been long noted for its "mustard-b.a.l.l.s made there, and sent to other parts." It may be remembered that in "2 Henry IV." (Act ii. sc. 4) Falstaff speaks of "wit as thick as Tewkesbury mustard." Then there is the familiar adage applied to the man who lacks steady application, "A rolling stone gathers no moss," with which may be compared another, "Seldom mosseth the marble-stone that men [tread] oft upon."

Among the good old proverbs a.s.sociated with flax may be mentioned the following, which enjoins the necessity of faith in our actions:--

"Get thy spindle and thy distaff ready, and G.o.d will send the flax."

A popular phrase speaks of "An owl in an ivy-bush," which perhaps was originally meant to denote the union of wisdom with conviviality, equivalent to "Be merry and wise." Formerly an ivy-bush was a common tavern sign, and gave rise to the familiar proverb, "Good wine needs no bush," this plant having been selected probably from having been sacred to Bacchus.