146 



Gather a stalk or two of lilies, enough to 

 satisfy the lust of possession. Possibly they 

 will revive after the outing is over, particu- 

 larly if you bind them with damp moss and 

 leaves. 



Curiously this marshy wood lies atop the 

 hill country. Go across it another way 

 through lanes, and along bridle-paths, skirt- 

 ing some babbling stream. Now the road 

 climbs sharply, then dips to a huge pond. 

 There is a crossway track through it, where 

 the water is barely ankle-deep. Either side 

 it would swim man or horse, if swimming 

 were not impossible for the rank growth 

 eddying and surging through it. Mark the 

 huge round leaves, as big as a small um- 

 brella each, with stems thicker than your 

 finger. They cover the face of the water, 

 and run riot over it. What tangle and 

 cable of stems must be hidden in its murk ! 

 The wreathen carpet of green bosses is all 

 starred with flowers cream -white, many- 

 petaled, with a fleshy golden disk for heart. 

 It is the yellow lotus, lovelier even than 

 Egypt's own flower. A perfect blossom, 

 with the width of your two hands. They 

 are sun -flowers, if they do not claim kin- 

 ship with the Sphinx. His first beams fall 

 on their opened hearts ; his last see them 



