"Corpus alit Faba; stringit cum cortice ventrem, Desiccat fleuma, stomacum lumenque relidit"-- is the description of the Bean in the "Modus Cenandi," l. 182 ("Babee's Book," ii, 48). While H. Vaughan describes it as-- "The Bean By curious pallats never sought;" and it was very generally used as a proverb of contempt-- "None other lif, sayd he, is worth a Bene."[34:1] "But natheles I reche not a Bene."[34:2] It is not apparently a romantic plant, and yet there is no plant round which so much curious folk lore has gathered. This may be seen at full length in Phillips' "History of Cultivated Vegetables." It will be enough here to say that the Bean was considered as a sacred plant both by the Greeks and Romans, while by the Egyptian priests it was considered too unclean to be even looked upon; that it was used both for its convenient shape and for its sacred associations in all elections by ballot; that this custom lasted in England and in most Europeans countries to a very recent date in the election of the kings and queens at Twelfth Night and other feasts; and that it was of great repute in all popular divinations and love charms. I find in Miller another use of Beans, which we are thankful to note among the obsolete uses: "They are bought up in great quantities at Bristol for Guinea ships, as food for the negroes on their passage from Africa to the West Indies." As an ornamental garden plant the Bean has never received the attention it seems to deserve. A plant of Broad Beans grown singly is quite a stately plant, and the rich scent is an additional attraction to many, though to many others it is too strong, and it has a bad character--"Sleep in a Bean-field all night if you want to have awful dreams or go crazy," is a Leicestershire proverb:[34:3] and the Scarlet Runner (which is also a Bean) is one of the most beautiful climbers we have. In England we seldom grow it for ornament, but in France I have seen it used with excellent effect to cover a trellis-screen, mixed with the large blue Convolvulus major. FOOTNOTES: [34:1] Chaucer, "The Marchandes Tale," 19. [34:2] Ibid., "The Man of Lawes Tale," prologue. [34:3] Copied from the mediæval proverb: "Cum faba florescit, stultorum copia crescit." BILBERRY. _Pistol._ Where fires thou find'st unraked and hearths unswept, There pinch the maids as blue as Bilberry-- Our radiant Queen hates sluts and sluttery. _Merry Wives_, act v, sc. 5 (48).