304 CHAPTER XL1L 



Or was it perchance the divine Soma, sacred to the 

 great god Indra ? Alliurn magicum claims to represent 

 the Moly of the ancients. I have grown this plant, 

 and can certify that the bulb is not black ; so the 

 claim must be disallowed. 



Strange that it is so hard to find this herb 

 which cures the snake-bite, heals the sick, and 

 remedies all human ills ! What are the botanists 

 about ? Dull fellows, with all their learning : they 

 cannot even tell us whether it is exogen or endogen, 

 acrogen, or thallogen. Alas for these dark days ! 

 The Moly no longer grows in the sunlit Isles of 

 Greece, nor can you pick the sacred Soma by the 

 Ganges bank or on the Coromandel coast. The spot 

 where I sat chatting with the douane-officer was 

 surpassingly lovely ; but even in the beautiful valleys 

 of the Maritime Alps you may search in vain for 

 that mysterious plant, whose secret is known only 

 to the Weasel. 



