IX. OUTSIDE AND IN. l8l 



thing half-done, before the points a and b have quite 

 met. Pinch them close, and stitch the two edges 

 neatly together, all the way from a to the point c ; 

 then roll and tie up the lower part as before. You 

 will find then that the back or spinal line of the 

 whole leaf is bent forward, as at B. Now go out to 

 the garden and gather the green leaf of a fleur-de-lys, 

 and look at it and your piece of disciplined paper 

 together ; and I fancy you will probably find out 

 several things for yourself that I want you to know. 

 1 1. You see, for one thing, at once, how strong 

 the fleur-de-lys leaf is, and that it is just twice as 

 strong as a blade of grass, for it is the substance 

 of the staff, with its sides flattened together, while 

 the grass blade is a staff cut open and flattened 

 out. And you see that as a grass blade necessarily 

 flaps down, the fleur-de-lys leaf as necessarily curves 

 up, owing to that inevitable bend in its back. And 

 you see, with its keen edge, and long curve, and sharp 

 point, how like a sword it is. The botanists would 

 for once have given a really good and right name to 

 the plants which have this kind of leaf, ' Ensatae,' 

 from the Latin ' ensis,' a sword ; if only sata had 

 been properly formed from sis. We can't let the 

 rude Latin stand, but you may remember that the 

 fleur-de-lys, which is the flower of chivalry, has a 

 sword for its leaf, and a lily for its heart. 



