HERA S MESSENGER SERVICE' 



"Iris all hues, roses and jessamine 

 Rear'd high their flourish'd heads." 



Paradise Lost. 



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TO my mind the history and romance of the fleur-de-lys 

 are quite as engaging as the beautiful blossoms them- 

 ■w selves, and as years grow into years and colour after 



colour, shade after shade, and variety after variety are 

 produced or discovered, so year after year we but come 

 nearer and ever nearer to the possession of a true ** rainbow- 

 flower, " for of course we must recognise the fact that this 

 iris of which we think so highly is named from the classic 

 Greek and signifies the bow which was stretched in the skies 

 as a sign to Noah, the rainbow which never fails to call out 

 our admiration. What we perhaps do not so readily call to 

 mind is the no less interesting fact that Iris was, in Greek 

 Mythology, the goddess of the rainbow and was traditionally 

 charged with the duties of messenger. 

 / ^ As the bow in the heavens which cheered Noah touched 



"This Chapter, together with Chapters I, II, VI, X, and XI, were 

 separately copyrighted, 1915, by C. Arthur Coan. 



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