(_For the Mirror_.)
It is supposed by some of the Welsh, and in some notes to a poem the
author (Mr. P. Lewellyn) says he has been confidently assured, that the
leek, as is generally supposed to be, is not the original emblem of Wales,
but the sive, or chive, which is common to almost every peasant's garden.
It partakes of the smell and taste of the onion and leek, but is not so
noxious, and is much handsomer than the latter. It grows in a wild state
on the banks of the Wye, infinitely larger than when planted in gardens.
According to the above-mentioned author, the manner in which it became
the national emblem of Cambria was as follows:--As a prince of Wales was
returning victorious from battle, he wished to have some leaf or flower
to commemorate the event; but it being winter, no plant or shrub was seen
until they came to the Wye, when they beheld the sive, which the prince
commanded to be worn as a memorial of the victory.
_Tipton, Staffordshire._