412 pPcint "bore, Tsegeot)/, and "bLjrlc/-, 



dream of eatin<^ salads made of Lettuce, &c., is supposed to portend 

 trouble and difficulty in the management of affairs. 



LILY. — The white Lily (Lilium candidum) was held in the 

 highest regard by the heathen nations ; it was one of the flowers 

 employed to form the couch of Jupiter and Juno, and under the 

 name of Rosa Jiinonis was consecrated to the imperious queen of 

 the heavens, from whose milk, indeed, the flower is stated to 

 have origmally sprung. The legend is as follows: — Jupiter being 

 desirous of rendering the infant Hercules immortal, that he 

 might rank among the divinities, caused Somnus to prepare a 

 necl:areous sleeping-draught, which he persuaded Juno to take. 

 The Queen of the Gods fell immediately into a profound slumber, 

 and Jupiter then placed the little Hercules to the celestial breast, 

 in order that the babe might imbibe the ambrosial milk that 

 would ensure its immortality. The infant, over-eager to enjoy the 

 delightful nutriment, drew the milk faster than he could swallow, 

 and some drops falling to the earth, there immediately sprang from 

 it the white Lily, the emblem of purity : some of the milk is also 

 said to have dropped over that portion of the heavens which, from 

 its whiteness, still retains the name of the Milky Way {lad^ea via). 

 Another version of the myth states that originally all the Lilies 

 were Orange-coloured, but that those on which Juno's milk fell 



were rendered white, and produced the Lilium candidum. 



The Lily was doubtless cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and 

 probably held in great esteem, for we find it appearing in their 

 hieroglyphical representations, and may therefore conclude that the 

 flower possessed some special significance. With the Greeks and 

 Romans, the Lily was a favourite flower, and Columella tells us 

 that the latter were wont to preserve Lilies by planting them in 

 baskets. The frequent allusions made to the plant in the Scriptures 

 are sufficient proof that the Hebrew race thought highly of the 

 beauty and grace of the Lily, In their language, the name 

 Susannah signifies a Lily. There are great diversities of opinion 

 as to what was the particular Lily alluded to by our Saviour when 

 He said, " Consider the Lilies of the field." Some think the 

 Tulip, others the Awaryllis lutca, others again the white Lily to be 

 the flowers to which Solomon in all his glory was not to be compared. 

 In nearly every Catholic country, the White Lily is dedi- 

 cated to the Virgin Mary, and is held to be emblematic of her 

 purity : hence the flower is frequently used to decorate her shrine, 

 and especially so on the feast of the Visitation of Our Lady and the 

 Annunciation. The Continental order of the Blessed Lady of the 

 Lily was instituted by Garcia, fourth King of Navarre, on account 

 of an image of the Holy Virgin being miraculously found, as it was 

 reported, in a Lily, which is believed to have cured this prince of 



a dangerous disorder. Rapin, the French Jesuit poet, has the 



following hues on the Lily, which he evidently confounds with the 



