Timon of Athens," v. 4;
"Antony and Cleopatra," iv. 6; "2 Henry IV.," iv. 4.

_Palm._ As the symbol of victory, this was carried before the conqueror
in triumphal processions. Its classical use is noticed by Shakespeare in
"Coriolanus" (v. 3). Volumnia says:[539]

"And bear the palm, for having bravely shed
Thy wife and children's blood."

[539] See "As You Like It," iii. 2; "Timon of Athens," v. 1;
cf. "Henry VIII.," iv. 2.

In "Julius Caesar" (i. 2), Cassius exclaims:

"Ye gods, it doth amaze me,
A man of such a feeble temper should
So get the start of the majestic world,
And bear the palm alone."

Pilgrims were formerly called "palmers," from the staff or bough of palm
they were wont to carry. So, in "All's Well That Ends Well" (iii. 5),
Helena asks:

"Where do the palmers lodge, I do beseech you?"

_Pear._ In his few notices of the pear Shakespeare only mentions two by
name, the warden and the poperin: the former was chiefly used for
roasting or baking, and is mentioned by the clown in the "Winter's Tale"
(iv. 3):

"I must have saffron, to colour the warden pies."

Hence Ben Jonson makes a pun upon Church-warden pies. According to some
antiquarians, the name warden is from the Anglo-Saxon _wearden_, to
preserve, as it keeps for a long time; but it is more probable that the
word had its origin from the horticultural skill of the Cistercian monks
of Wardon Abbey, in Bedfordshire, founded in the 12th century. Three
warden pears appeared on the armorial bearings of the abbey.[540] It is
noticeable that the warden pies of Shakespeare's day, colored with
saffron, have been replaced by stewed pears colored with cochineal.

[540] See "Archaeological Journal," vol. v. p. 301.

The poperin pear was probably introduced from Flanders by the antiquary
Leland, who was made rector of Popering by Henry VIII. It is alluded to
by Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" (ii. 1), where he wishes that Romeo
were "a poperin pear." In the old dramas there is much attempt at wit on
this pear.

_Peas._ A practice called "peascod wooing" was formerly a common mode of
divination in love affairs. The cook, when shelling green peas, would,
if she chanced to find a pod having nine, lay it on the lintel of the
kitchen-door, and the first man who entered was supposed to be her
future husband. Another way of divination by peascod consisted in the
lover selecting one growing on the