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271
The Folk-lore of Plants
·
T. F. Thiselton-Dyer
118
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-balls
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
associated
with
flax
may
be
mentioned
the
following,
which
enjoins
the
necessity
of
faith
in
our
actions:--
"Get
thy
spindle
and
thy
distaff
ready,
and
God
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.
According
to
an
old
proverb
respecting
the
camomile,
we
are
told
that
"the
more
it
is
trodden
the
more
it
will
spread,"
an
allusion
to
which
is
made
by
Falstaff
in
"I
Henry
IV."
(Act
ii.
sc.
4):--
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