Part 13 (2/2)

”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 Devons.h.i.+re 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 Gloucesters.h.i.+re 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.

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