SEPTEMBER. 225 



poet but Crabbe would descend to so homely a vegetable product as 

 Kelp. There is no flower more peculiar in its beauty and growth 

 than the Water Lily ; accordingly Coleridge, with his metaphysical 

 tendency to seize on rare and impressive analogies, has drawn a 

 comparison from this flower which strikes me as one of the most 

 poetical as well as felicitous in modern literature. Speaking of the 

 zest for new truth felt by those already well instructed, as compared 

 with the indifferent mental appetite of the ignorant, he says, " The 

 Water Lily, in the midst of waters, opens its leaves and expands its 

 petals at the first pattering of the shower, and rejoices in the rain- 

 drops with a quicker sympathy than the parched shrub in the sandy 

 desert." The dreamy, half-sensuous and half-ideal nature of Ten- 

 nyson is naturally attracted by the sweet ravishment innate in the 

 breath and juices of some flowers. He is fitted keenly to appreciate 

 the luxurious indolence and fanciful ecstasy thus induced ; and 

 therefore one of the most effective and original of his poems is "The 

 Lotus-Eaters." Moore's famous image of the Sunflower is a constant 

 bone of contention between horticulturists and poets ; the former as- 

 serting that it does not turn round with the luminary it is supposed 

 to adore, but is as fixed on its stalk as any other flower ; and the 

 latter declaring that the metaphor "se non e vero, e ben trovato."' 



Few plants are more graceful or versatile in contour than the 

 Fern. One can scarcely pass a group without recalling that line of 

 Scott, which so aptly describes the utter lull of the air : 



" There is no breeze upon the fern, no ripple on the lake." 

 Goldsmith's sympathy with the rural and human is associated inti- 

 mately with the Hawthorn, " for whispering lovers made." Rose- 

 mary has been more emblematic of remembrance since it was so 

 offered by the " fair Ophelia;" and Heartsease is consecrated by the 

 splendid compliment to " the virgin throned by the West," to which 

 it is indebted for the name of " Love-in-idleness." The epicurean 

 utilitarianism of Leigh Hunt recognised " comfort" in the feel of a 

 Geranium leaf; and who that has read with appreciation Miss 

 Barrett's fine poem, elaborating the beautiful sentiment of the Bible, 

 **He giveth his beloved sleep," can see a Poppy, that gorgeous em- 

 blem of the drowsy god, without a benison on the thoughtful lyrist ? 

 I think that the Yellow Broom must have originally flourished in 

 lonely places. For hours I followed a mule-path in the most deserted 

 part of Sicily, cheerful with its blossoms, whose rich yet delicate 

 odour embalmed the air ; hence the significance of Shakspeare's al- 

 lusion to this flower, " which the dismissed bachelor loves, being 

 lass-lorn." Campbell must have had an oppressive sense of the 

 poisonous horror of Nightshade, from his reference to it in the pro- 

 test against scepticism, as the natural companion of dismay. I have 

 always thought the Thistle an apposite symbol, not only of Scotland, 

 but of her martyred queen : 



" Its fragrant down set round with thorns, and rifled by the bee." 



One of the most popular tales of the day, " Picciola," is based 

 upon the interest which a single flower may excite when it is the 



VOL. III. NO. XXXIII. T 



