and favourite little flower, of brilliant scarlet hue,
expanding only in bright weather, and closing its petals at two
o'clock in the day. It occurs quite commonly in gardens and open
fields, being the scarlet Pimpernel, or _Anagallis arvensis_, and
belonging to the Primrose tribe of plants. Old authors called it
Burnet; which is quite a distinct herb, cultivated now for kitchen
use, the _Pimpinella Saxifraga_, of so cheery and exhilarating a
quality, and so generally commended, [429] that its excellence has
passed into a proverb, "_l'insolata non buon, ne betta ove non e
Pimpinella_." But this Burnet Pimpinella is of a different
(Umbelliferous) order, though similarly styled because its leaves are
likewise bipennate.

The Scarlet Pimpernel is named _Anagallis_, from the Greek
_anagelao_, to laugh; either because, as Pliny says, the plant
removes obstructions of the liver, and spleen, which would
engender sadness, or because of the graceful beauty of its flowers:--

"No ear hath heard, no tongue can tell
The virtues of the Pimpernell."

The little plant has no odour, but possesses a bitter taste, which is
rather astringent. Doctors used to consider the herb remedial in
melancholy, and in the allied forms of mental disease, the decoction,
or a tincture being employed. It was also prescribed for
hydrophobia, and linen cloths saturated with a decoction were kept
applied to the bitten part.

Narcotic effects were certainly produced in animals by giving
considerable doses of an extract made from the herb. The flowers
have been found useful in epilepsy, twenty grains dried being given
four times a day. A medicinal tincture (H.) is prepared with spirit of
wine. It is of approved utility for irritability of the main urinary
passage, with genital congestion, erotism, and dragging of the loins,
this tincture being then ordered of the third decimal strength, in
doses of from five to ten drops every three or four hours, with a
spoonful of water.

A decoction of the plant is held in esteem by countryfolk as
checking pulmonary consumption in its early stages. Hill says there
are many authenticated cases of this dire disease being absolutely
cured by the herb, [430] The infusion is best made by pouring
boiling water on the fresh plant. It contains "saponin," such as the
Soapwort also specially furnishes.

In France the Pimpernel (_Anagallis_) is thought to be a noxious
plant of drastic narcotico-acrid properties, and