THE LILY. 



THE LILY {Liliiim candidiiin). — Majesty. 



" The Lily's height bespoke command, 

 A fair imperial flower ; 

 She seemed designed for Flora's hand, 

 The sceptre of her power." — Cowper. 



From the middle of a tuft of long leaves, which In unfolding 

 themselves fall back one upon another, so as to form a round 

 green couch, there rises an elegant and stately stem, which 

 is terminated by a cluster of long buds of a soft and shining 

 green. Time Imperceptibly swells and blanches the buds of 

 this pretty bunch, and, towards the middle of June, they 

 bend downwards and unfold In six petals of sparkling white- 

 ness. Their union forms those admirable vases. In which 

 nature delights to set golden stamens, from which gush forth 

 wavelets of perfume. These beautiful flowers, half-Inclined 

 around the lofty stem, seem to exact and receive the homage 

 of nature ; but yet the Lily, notwithstanding her charms, needs 

 a court In order to appear In her full lustre. Alone, she Is 

 cold and as one forsaken ; surrounded by many other flowers, 

 she throws them all Into the shade. She Is a sovereign ; her 

 charm Is the charm of Majesty : 



" The fair Lily's bell was set 

 With a bright dewy coronet." — MisS Browne. 



The Lily has ever been regarded also as the emblem of 

 whiteness, and hence of purity. So long ago as when the 

 apocryphal books of the Old Testament were written, no 

 title could better distinguish the Jewish matron whose spot 



127 



