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from side to side, of the tank in which it grows. As the lu- 

 minary of day sinks in the west, the sensitive bud, as if regret- 

 ting its departure, in its sorrow sinks beneath the water and is 

 scarcely seen. At the end of a week it has grown with great 

 rapidity, and towards the destined period it begins to show evi- 

 dences of expanding. In the day that I first saw it in this 

 condition, (Thursday, July 28, 1853,) it was 4 o'clock, P.M., 

 when two of its outer flower leaves (calyx-leaves or sepals) 

 sprung asunder Avith great force ; and in three quarters of an 

 hour from that time, this regal wonder of the tropical waters 

 had displayed its first stages of glory ! As each broad petal 

 unfolded itself, it fell partly backward, until three distinct rows 

 of petals formed a cup of rare elegance and of the whitest puri- 

 ty. The still air of the greenhouse was now filled with a rich 

 perfume. There were many eager eyes beside mine own, 

 watching its developing loveliness, and I believe that its rare 

 beauty, thus gradually disclosed, touched many a heart. We 

 stood as worshippers at its shrine ; indeed ! who could but feel 

 that the August Presence was there in one of the many forms 

 of mysterious wonder of this fair -world. 



This chaste ivory-white chalice was set off by the effect of 

 the yet unfolded interior petals, which betrayed a few streaks of 

 carmine tints, the full splendor of which was yet to be revealed. 

 But we must w^ait another day ;■ — and about the same hour, on 

 Friday, P. M., the panorama of beauty resumed. The first 

 symptoms of the new opening were a sudden springing open of 

 the interior petals, similar to that of the calyx leaves. As each 

 unfolded itself, it exhibited something gorgeously new. The 

 exterior petals too, wore no longer their ivory whiteness, but 

 were tinted with a delicate rosy color. On other petals were 

 streaks and dashes and spots of a rich carmine, and on others 

 were pencillings of the same color and of a feathery outline. 

 On others still, the crimson color was intense, and some of these 

 petals were of that color entirely, except at the very base where 

 the white tint prevailed. Thus the Regal Lily has assumed her 

 robe of state and attired itself in a drapery of Tyrian splendor. 



