Of his fiers foe, him to a tree applyes,
And when him ronning in full course he spyes,
He slips aside: the whiles that furious beast
His precious horne, sought of his enimyes
Strikes in the stocke, ne thence can be releast,
But to the mighty victor yields a bounteous feast."

[448] See Brewer's "Dictionary of Phrase and Fable," p. 922.

_Weasel._ To meet a weasel was formerly considered a bad omen.[449] That
may be a tacit allusion to this superstition in "Lucrece" (l. 307):

"Night-wandering weasels shriek to see him there;
They fright him, yet he still pursues his fear."

[449] See Brand's "Pop. Antiq.," 1849, vol. iii. p. 283.

It appears that weasels were kept in houses, instead of cats, for the
purpose of killing vermin. Phaedrus notices this their feline office in
the first and fourth fables of his fourth book. The supposed
quarrelsomeness of this animal is spoken of by Pisanio in "Cymbeline"
(iii. 4), who tells Imogen that she must be "as quarrelous as the
weasel;" and in "1 Henry IV." (ii. 3), Lady Percy says to Hotspur:

"A weasel hath not such a deal of spleen
As you are toss'd with."

This character of the weasel is not, however, generally mentioned by
naturalists.

CHAPTER VIII.

PLANTS.

That Shakespeare possessed an extensive knowledge of the history and
superstitions associated with flowers is evident, from even only a
slight perusal of his plays. Apart from the extensive use which he has
made of these lovely objects of nature for the purpose of embellishing,
or adding pathos to, passages here and there, he has also, with a master
hand, interwoven many a little legend or superstition, thereby infusing
an additional force into his writings. Thus we know with what effect he
has made use of the willow in "Othello," in that touching passage where
Desdemona (iv. 3), anticipating her death, relates how her mother had a
maid called Barbara:

"She was in love; and he she lov'd prov'd 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."

In a similar manner Shakespeare has frequently introduced flowers with a
wonderful aptness, as in the case of poor Ophelia. Those, however,
desirous of gaining a good insight into Shakespeare's knowledge of
flowers, as illustrated by his plays, would do well to consult Mr.