THE LIME TREE. 



Wordsworth speaks of " that shy plant," — 



"The Lily of the Vale, 

 That loves the ground, and from the sun withholds 

 Her pensive beauty ; from the breeze her sweets ; " 



and Thomson bids us " seek the bank," — 



" Where, scattered wide, the Lily of the Vale 

 Her balmy essence breathes.'' 



Wiffen thus expresses his admiration of the Lily of the 

 Valley,— 



" Her flower, the vestal nun who (lone) abideth ; 

 Her breath, that of celestials meekly wooed 

 From heaven ; her leaf, the holy veil which hideth 

 Her from the shrine where purity resideth ; 

 Spring's darling, nature's pride, the sylvan's queen.'' 



Who does not promptly join in this .■" What flowers do we 

 look for so frequently, so eagei-ly, as for those of the Lily 

 of the Valley which attend, if they do not foretell, the 

 return of the happy days of Spring and Summer, which 

 follow the dreariness and gloom of winter .' 



THE LIME TREE {Tilia ;'«5ra).— Conjugal Love. 



" A murmur of the bee 

 Dwells ever in the honeyed Lime." — Mrs. Hemans. 



Zeus and Hermes, in human form, visited Phrygia. They 

 were refused hospitality by all until they came to the dwell- 

 ing of Philemon and Baucis, who entertained them kindly. 

 Zeus compensated them by taking them to a lofty eminence, 



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