THE YELLOW WATER-LILY. 245 



" Bright lily of the wave ! 

 Rising in fearless grace with every swell, 

 Thou seem'st as if a spirit meekly brave 

 Dwelt .in thy cell!" 



Permit me, reader, another quotation. I take it from your 

 and my favourite, Wordsworth : 



" Rapturously we gather flowery spoils 

 From land and water ; lilies of each hue, 

 Golden and white, that float upon the waves, 

 And court the wind." 



The lily of golden hue, the yellow water-lily, is the Nuphar 

 lutea of botanists. The country people, on account of its 

 peculiar scent, most unpoetically call it "brandy-bottle." It 

 is far more plentiful than the regal nymphsea ; its flower is not 

 so full of petals ; and it is by no means so handsome. Yet, 

 with its smooth, glossy leaves, and golden cups, and long 

 floating stems, it favourably attracts the eye. We are told 

 that "its roots are nutritious, and are frequently powdered 

 and eaten for bread in Sweden ; " that, mixed with the bark 

 of the Scotch fir, they form a cake much relished by the 

 Swedes ; in which case the Swedish palate certainly cannot 

 be censured as fastidious. "These roots are also burnt on 

 the hearths of farmhouses, because their smoke is reputed to 

 drive away the crickets, whose chirping is sometimes too loud 

 and shrill to be deemed musical." Assuredly this is untrue of 

 many parts of England, as the cricket is popularly supposed 

 to be " lucky," and no old country-wife would allow it to be 

 driven away from her sanctum. 



