The willow has long been a proverbial symbol of sadness, and on this account it was customary for those who were forsaken in love to wear a garland made of willow. Thus in "Othello," Desdemona (Act iv. sc. 3) anticipating her death, says:—
"My mother had a maid called Barbara:
She was in love; and he she loved proved 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."
According to another adage:—
"Willows are weak, yet they bind other wood,"
The significance of which is clear. Then, again, there is the not very complimentary proverbial saying, of which there are several versions:—
"A spaniel, a woman, and a walnut-tree,
The more they're beaten, the better they be."
Another variation, given by Moor in his "Suffolk Words" (p. 465), is this:—
"Three things by beating better prove:
A nut, an ass, a woman;
The cudgel from their back remove,
And they'll be good for no man."
A curious phrase current in Devonshire for a young lady who jilts a man is, "She has given him turnips;" and an expressive one for those persons who in spite of every kindness are the very reverse themselves is this:—
"Though you stroke the nettle ever so kindly, yet it will sting you;"