PROSERPINA. 



now, instead of merely giving it nicks at a, b, cut it into the 

 shape A, Fig. 23. Roll the lower part up as before, but in- 

 stead of pulling the upper part down, pinch its back at the 

 dotted line, and bring the two points, a and b, forward, so 

 that they may touch each other. B shows the look of the 

 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. 



11. 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, 'Ensatse,' 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 remem- 

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

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



12. In case you cannot gather a fleur-de-lys leaf, I have 

 drawn for you, in Plate VI., a cluster of such leaves, which are 

 as pretty as any. and so small that, missing the points of a 



FIG. 23. 



