/ / 'HITE ] \ ^A TER LILY. 



is still, j^roatl}' abused, is one of the most valuable gifts of 

 nature. Its fruit, when ripe and fresh from the tree, is most 

 delicious and refreshing; when dried it adds to our enjoyment 

 of the food givx-n to us, and is a most wholesome part of our 

 diet ; and in the form of wine expressed from the grape, it is 

 not onl}- innocuous but invigorating when used \\ ithin proper 

 limits. The effects in no case should exceed what we call 

 mirthfulness ; as Scott says, 



" Let dimpled mirth his temples twine, 

 With tendrils of the laughing Vine ;" 



and if it do more than '* gladden the heart of man, and make 

 him of a cheerful countenance," it produces results which 

 in\-ariably follow upon the abuse of those good things wdiich 

 have been given to us ; for every created thing is good, and to 

 be rightly received wath thankful heart. 



WHITE WATER LILY {XyiupJum ^/<^.0-— Eloquence. 



The Egyptians consecrated the Nymphaea Lotus to the 

 Sun, the god of Eloquence. These flowers close at sunset 

 and sink into the water ; they rise with the god of day as he 

 comes above the horizon. The flower forms part of the head- 

 dress of Osiris. Indian gods are depicted sitting on a Lotus- 

 flower at tile b.'jttom of the waters; s)'mbolizing, as it would 

 seem, the rising up of the luirth, and its separation from 

 the Water. 



Our Wiiite Water Lily is a lovely sister of the L:g>i)Li.in 

 Lotus. Well ma}' Miss Twamle}' give the invitation, 



204 



