42. That is, they cheated the deviser of the maze, by stepping over the rail put to strengthen the hedge. That was because they lost their temper.
44. The authoress got ahead of the rest; although sorely tired, she had gained a great advantage, and found the last narrow passage which led straight to the arbour in the centre. This was provided with benches (doubtless of turf, Flower and Leaf, l. 51) and well enclosed, having stone walls and a paved floor with a fountain in the middle of it.
54. There were stairs leading downwards, with a 'turning-wheel.' I do not think that turning-wheel here means a turn-stile, or what was formerly called a turn-pike. It simply means that the stair-case was of spiral form. Jamieson tells us that, in Lowland Scotch, the term turn-pike was applied (1) to the winding stair of a castle, and (2) to any set of stairs of spiral form; and quotes from Arnot to shew that a spiral stair-case was called a turnpike stair, whereas a straight one was called a scale stair. The pot of marjoram may have been placed on a support rising from the newel.
It may be noted that arbours, which varied greatly in size and construction, were often set upon a small 'mount' or mound; in which case it would be easy to make a small spiral stair-case in the centre. In the present case, it could hardly have been very large, as it occupied a space in the centre of a maze. For further illustration, see A History of Gardening in England, by the Hon. Alicia Amherst, pp. 33, 52, 78, 116, 118, 314.
60. 'And how they (the daisies) were accompanied with other flowers besides, viz. forget-me-nots and remember-mes; and the poor pansies were not ousted from the place.'
61. Ne-m'oublie-mies; from O.F. ne m'oublie-mie, a forget-me-not. Littré, s.v. ne m'oubliez pas, quotes, from Charles d'Orléans, 'Des
fleurs de ne m'oubliez mie'; and again, from a later source, 'Un diamant taillé en fleur de ne m'oblie mie.' The recovery of this true reading (by the help of MS. A.) is very interesting; as all the editions, who follow Thynne, are hopelessly wrong. Thynne, misreading the word, printed Ne momblysnesse; whence arose the following extraordinary entry in Bailey's Dictionary:—'Momblishness, talk, muttering; Old Word.' This ghost-word is carefully preserved in the Century Dictionary in the form:—'Momblishness, muttering talk; Bailey (1731).'
sovenez doubtless corresponds to the name remember-me, given in Yorkshire and Scotland to the Veronica chamædrys, more commonly called the germander speedwell, and in some counties forget-me-not. But we should rather, in this passage, take forget-me-not (above) to refer, as is most usual, to the Myosotis; as Littré also explains it. Here Thynne was once more at a loss, and printed the word as souenesse, which was 'improved' by Stowe into sonenesse. Hence another ghost-word, recorded by Bailey in the entry:—'Sonenesse, noise.' Cf. l. 86.
62. pensees, pansies; alluding, of course, to the Viola tricolor. The spelling is correct, as it represents the O.F. pensee, thought; and it seems to have been named, as Littré remarks, in a similar way to the forget-me-not, and (I may add) to the remember-me.
68. stremes, jets of water; there was a little fountain in the middle.