66

Narcissus and Baffodil.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Outdid the sparkling waves in glee;
A poet could not but be gay

In such a joyful company:

I gazed and gazed-but little thought
What wealth to me the show had brought.

For oft when on my couch I lie,

In vacant or in pensive mood,
that inward eye

They flash

upon

Which is the bliss of solitude.

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the Daffodils.

Wordsworth

Nature's laws must be obeyed,
And this is one she strictly laid
On every soul which she has made,
Down from our earliest mother:
Be self your first and greatest care,
From all reproach the darling spare,
And any blame that she should bear,

Put off

upon

another.

Miss Gould.

The pale Narcissus

Still feeds upon itself; but, newly blown,

The nymphs will pluck it from its tender stalk,
And say, "Go, fool, and to thy image talk."

Lord Thurlow.

Lily.

67

LILY.... Majesty.

THE Lily's height and beauty speak command. The Jews imitated its form in the decorations of their first magnificent temple; and Christ described it as more splendid than King Solomon in his most gorgeous apparel. According to ancient mythology, there was originally but one species of Lily, and that was orangecoloured; and the white was produced by the following circumstance:-Jupiter, wishing to render Hercules immortal, prevailed on Juno to take a deep draught of nectar, which threw the queen into a profound sleep. Jupiter then placed the infant Hercules at her breast, so that the divine milk might ensure immortality. Hercules drew the milk faster than he could swallow it, and some drops fell to the earth, from which immediately sprang the White Lily.

Flowers of the fairest,

And gems of the rarest,

I find and I gather in country or town;

But one is still wanting,

Oh! where is it haunting?

The bud and the jewel must make up my crown.

Thou pearl of the deep sea

That flows in my heart free,

Thou rock-planted Lily, come hither, or send;
Mid flowers of the fairest,

And gems of the rarest,

I miss thee, I seek thee, my own parted friend!

Queen Lilies and ye painted populace,

Who dwell in fields, and lead ambrosial lives.

Young.

The wand-like Lily, which lifted up,
As a Mœnad, its radiant-coloured cup,
Till the fiery star, which is in its eye,
Gazed through clear dew on the tender sky.

Shelley.

Her glossy hair is clustered o'er a brow
Bright with intelligence, and fair and smooth;
Her eyebrow's shape is like the aerial bow,

Her cheek all purple with the beam of youth, Mounting at times to a transparent glow,

As if her veins run lightning; she, in sooth, Has a proud air, and grace by no means common, Her stature tall,-I hate a dumpy woman.

Byron.

Oh, he is all made up of love and charms,
Whatever maid could wish or man admire;
Delight of every eye! when he appears,
A secret pleasure gladdens all that see him;
And when he talks, the proudest men will blush
To hear his virtues and his glory!

Addison.

Moss Rose.... Confession of Love.

THE origin of this exquisitely beautiful variety of the Rose is thus fancifully accounted for:

The Angel of the Flowers one day,
Beneath a Rose-tree sleeping lay,
That spirit to whose charge is given

To bathe young buds in dews from heaven.
Awaking from his light repose,

The angel whispered to the Rose,

"O fondest object of my care,

Still fairest found where all are fair,

For the sweet shade thou hast given to me,
Ask what thou wilt, 'tis granted thee.”
Then said the Rose, with deepening glow,
"On me another grace bestow."

The spirit paused in silent thought-
What grace was there that flower had not?
'Twas but a moment-o'er the Rose
A veil of moss the angel throws;
And, robed in nature's simplest weed,
Could there a flower that Rose exceed?

Anon.

They gather gems with sunbeams bright,
From floating clouds and falling showers;
They rob Aurora's locks of light,

To grace their own fair queen of flowers.
Thus, thus adorned, the speaking rose
Becomes a token fit to tell

70

White Water-Lily.

Of things that words can ne'er disclose,
And naught but this reveal so well.
Then take my flower, and let its leaves
Beside thy heart be cherished near,
While that confiding heart receives
The thought it whispers to thine ear.

Token, 1830.

WHITE WATER-LILY....Purity.

THE White Water-Lily is the Queen of the Waves, and reigns sole sovereign over the streams; and it was a species of Water-Lily which the old Egyptians and ancient Indians worshipped-the most beautiful object that was held sacred in their superstitious creed, and one which we cannot look upon even now without feeling a delight mingled with reverence. No flower looks more lovely than this "Lady of the Lake," resting her crowned head on a green throne of velvet, and looking down into the depths of her own sky-reflecting realms, watching the dance, as her attendant water-nymphs keep time to the rocking of the ripples, and the dreamy swaying of the trailing water streams.

Miller.

Thine is a face to look upon and pray
That a pure spirit keep thee-I would meet
With one so gentle by the streams away,
Living with nature; keeping thy pure feet
For the unfingered moss, and for the grass
Which leaneth where the gentle waters pass.