AMARYLLIS TRIBE 235 



at Arabian festivals. It grows wild in France, Switzerland, and Southern 

 Europe. Keats alludes, in sweet English verse, to the ancient legend of the 

 metamorphosis of the youth Narcissus : — 



" What first inspired a bard of old to sing 

 Narcissus pining in th' untasted spring ? 

 In some delicious ramble lie had found 

 A little space with boughs all woven round, 

 And, in the midst of all, a clearer pool 

 Than e'er reflected in its pleasant cool, 

 The blue sky here and there serenely peeping, 

 Through tendril wreaths fantastically creeiiing ; 

 And on the bank a lovely flower he spied, 

 A meek and forlorn ilower, with nought of pride, 

 Drooping its beauty o'er the watery clearness 

 To woo its own sad image into nearness 

 Deaf to light Zephyrus, it would not move, 

 But still would seem to droop, to pine, to love : 

 So while the poet stood in this sweet spot, 

 Some fainter gleaniings o'er his fancy shot ; 

 Nor was it long ere he had told his tale 

 Of young Narcissus and sad Echo's bale." 



3. Pale Narcissus (iV. hiflurus). — Spathe 2-flowered ; nectary very 

 short, and notched at the edge; leaves keeled. This species, which is 

 plentiful about Dublin, and occurs on sandy fields in many places in the 

 south of England, is, however, but a naturalized plant. It flowers in May 

 and June, and has smaller and less fragrant blossoms than the last species ; 

 they are of a delicate yellow, and the short nectary is without the crimson 

 edge. 



2. Snowdrop (GaUnikus). 



Common Snowdrop (G. nivalis). — Flowers solitary, drooping ; leaves 

 tAvo, keeled, linear, and glaucous. There are many parts of the kingdom 

 where this pretty flower gro^ws without culture, in thickets, lanes, and 

 orchards ; evidently in some, the outcasts of gardens, but in others appar- 

 ently wild. Very early in the year its snow-white flowers appear among the 

 crackling leaves of winter, or even maintain the propriety of the French 

 name, Perce-neige, by uplifting themselves through a mantle of snow. 



" While still the cold north-cast ungenial lowers. 

 And scarce the hazel in the leafless copse. 

 Or sallows show their downy powdered flowers, 

 The grass is spangled with its silver drops." 



It was probably introduced into this country by the monks, and was 

 deemed by them an emblem of feminine purity, one of its old names being 

 "Fair Maid of February." Our earliest writers upon plants do not mention 

 it as a wild flower. Gerarde says, " These plants doe growe wilde in Italic, 

 and the places adjacent ; notwithstanding our London gardens have taken 

 possession of them manie yeares past." Its old name was Bulbous Violet. 

 The Italians call it Pianterella, and the German name of Schneeglockchen is not 

 inappropriate. It is general in most European countries, and Dr. E. D. 

 Clarke saw it on Mount Helicon. Its inner segments have a green patch at 

 their extremity, but the snow itself is not whiter than the outer ones. There 



30—2 



