r 



©aiimntla icgalis. Xatural Order: Filices — Fcrn Family. 





* 



fW 



K^^^f^\ ^^N England this fern is called Ro3'al Osmunda, as its Latin 

 ^'# Ji*&'.'>i^^ name signifies, and is given a place in the ferneries of the 

 ^j-^ "^l :9:[^most fastidious amateur. In America it is found in damp 

 ^ll'^'^loj ■^'4- meadows and swampy lands, sending up its fronds sometimes 

 *^^ three 



and four feet high, but in less damp and congenial 

 •^^4t " * * ^^ places it diminishes its height nearly one half There is 

 k ^^ ''^ '"-"-'} anything more graceful than the Fern, of whatever species, 

 ^/'^.^ from the common brake in the woods, or fence corners, to the most 

 •^^ delicate tropical one cherished in hothouse or greenhouse. No glaring 

 :olor to strike the eye, nothing but its own simple and elegant outline, 

 ^i^ and tliat e\'er-satisfying, restful and never-tiring tint of nature, the pre- 

 dominating green. 



IITHY, when the bahn of sleep descends on man, 



Do gay delusions, wand'ring o'er the brain, 

 Soothe the delighted soul with empty bliss? 



TTTELL may dreams present us fictions. 

 Since our waking moments teem 



With such fanciful convictions 

 As make life itself a dream. 



Before me like a misty star 



That form floats dim and beautiful. 

 — Campbell. G D Pi 



INNOCENT dreams be thine! thy heart sends up 



Its thoughts of purity, like pearly bells, 

 Rising in crystal fountains. Would I were 

 A sound, that I might steal upon thy dreams. 

 And, like the breathing of my flute, distil 

 Sweetly upon thy senses. 

 T^RE.\MS are the children of an idle brain. 



Begot of nothing but vain fantasy, 

 Which is as thin of substance as the air, 

 And more inconstant than the wind. 



— S/itjlcespcare. 



339 



A" 



LAS 



-Willix. 

 that dreams 



dreams 



That fancy cannot give 

 A lasting beauty to those forms. 

 Which scarce a moment live! 



—Rufiis Dawes. 



