246 THE EASTERN WATER-LILY. 



The water-lily of the East, the beautiful Lotus, the Nelum- 

 bium spedosum, which is figured on so many Egyptian and 

 Indian monuments, is rich in blue and red, as well as in 

 white blossoms. These are said to sink quite below the 

 surface in the evening and during the night shadows ; whence 

 Moore says of them, with his artificial prettiness 



" Those virgin lilies, all the night 



Bathing their beauties in the lake, 

 That they may rise more fresh and bright 

 When their beloved sun's awake." 



It was formerly abundant on the Nile, and the Egyptians 

 consecrated it to their supreme god, Osiris ; but, with the 

 splendour and mysticism of ancient Egypt, it has completely 

 passed away. 



But it is scarcely less prized by the Hindus, who have also 

 consecrated it to one of their deities. A traveller thus speaks 

 of the sacred Ganges in connexion with it : " The rich and 

 luxuriant clusters of the lotus float in quick succession upon 

 the silvery current. Nor is it the sacred lotus alone which 

 embellishes the wavelets of the Ganges ; large white, yellow, 

 and scarlet flowers pay an equal tribute ; and the prows of the 

 numerous native vessels navigating the stream are garlanded 

 by long wreaths of the most brilliant daughters of the parterre. 

 India may be called a paradise of flowers : the most beautiful 

 lilies grow spontaneously upon the sandy shores of the rivers, 

 and from every projecting cliff some shrub dips its flowers in 

 the waters below." 



