ii6 THE SHAKESPEARE GARDEN 



held himself in a stream and became so fascinated 

 with his reflection that he pined to death gazing at 

 his own image. 



For him the Naiads and the Dryads mourn, 

 Whom the sad Echo answers in her turn, 

 And now the sister nymphs prepare his urn ; 

 When looking for his corpse, they only found 

 A rising stalk with yellow blossoms crowned. 



In the center of the cup are to be found the tears 

 of Narcissus ! 



Because the flower was consecrated to Ceres and 

 to the Underworld and to the Elysian Fields, the 

 daffodil was one of the flowers that Proserpine was 

 gathering when "dusky Dis" carried her off and 

 the myth also hints that the Earth purposely brought 

 the asphodel forth from the Underworld to entice 

 the unsuspecting daughter of Ceres. Sophocles as- 

 sociates the daffodil with the garlands of great god- 

 desses: "And ever, day by day, the narcissus with 

 its beauteous clusters, the ancient coronet of the 

 mighty goddesses, bursts into bloom by heaven's 

 dew." * 



The delightful Dr. Forbes Watson writes of the 

 daffodil like a painter, with accurate observation and 

 bright palette : 



1 (Edipus Coloneus, 



