And in "Antony and Cleopatra" (i. 3) the latter exclaims:

"upon your sword
Sit laurelled victory."[518]

[518] See "3 Henry VI.," iv. 6; "Troilus and Cressida," i. 3.

_Leek._ The first of March is observed by the Welsh in honor of St.
David, their patron saint, when, as a sign of their patriotism, they
wear a leek. Much doubt exists as to the origin of this custom.
According to the Welsh, it is because St. David ordered his Britons to
place leeks in their caps, that they might be distinguished in fight
from their Saxon foes. Shakespeare, in "Henry V." (iv. 7), alludes to
the custom when referring to the battle of Cressy. Fluellen says, "If
your majesties is remembered of it, the Welshmen did good service in a
garden where leeks did grow, wearing leeks in their Monmouth caps, which
your majesty know to this hour is an honourable badge of the service;
and I do believe your majesty takes no scorn to wear the leek upon Saint
Tavy's day."[519] Dr. Owen Pughe[520] supposes the custom arose from the
practice of every farmer contributing his leek to the common repast when
they met at the Cymmortha, an association by which they reciprocated
assistance in ploughing the land. Anyhow, the subject is one involved in
complete uncertainty, and the various explanations given are purely
conjectural (see p. 303).

[519] See "Henry V.," iv. 1.

[520] "Cambrian Biography," 1803, p. 86; see Brand's "Pop.
Antiq.," 1849, vol. i. pp. 102-108.

_Lily._ Although so many pretty legends and romantic superstitions have
clustered round this sweet and favorite flower, yet they have escaped
the notice of Shakespeare, who, while attaching to it the choicest
epithets, has simply made it the type of elegance and beauty, and the
symbol of purity and whiteness.

_Long Purples._ This plant, mentioned by Shakespeare in "Hamlet" (iv. 7)
as forming part of the nosegay of poor Ophelia, is generally considered
to be the early purple orchis (_Orchis mascula_), which blossoms in
April or May. It grows in meadows and pastures, and is about ten inches
high. Tennyson ("A Dirge") uses the name:

"Round thee blow, self-pleached deep,
Bramble roses, faint and pale,
And long purples of the dale."

Another term applied by Shakespeare to this flower was "Dead Men's
Fingers," from the pale color and hand-like shape of the palmate tubers:

"Our cold maids do dead men's fingers call them."

In "Flowers