THE NIGELLA. 313 



seems possible for their caresses to reach her. Melancholy 

 grandeur ! annoying elevation ! 



The blossoms of the rue are in nearly the same position ; 

 but they have only one difficulty to triumph over; the sta- 

 mens, the lovers, are only bent down to a distance from the 

 object of their love ; they have the power of raising them- 

 selves up towards her, and afterwards drop again. The little 

 nymph who dwells in the Nigella has less dignity. Besides, 

 she might always wait, and see her lovers fade away and die, 

 without their having been able to evince anything more than 

 a respectful attention : it is not their position, but their 

 stature, which prevents their reaching her. 



This nymph is like other nymphs; she flies, but she is 

 desirous of being seen to fly, and has no great objection to be 

 pursued. 



She would wait patiently if they could come, but she 

 knows that this haughty indifference ' would be taken as 

 earnest. 



At court, princesses invite the men to dance, whilst the 

 latter invite other ladies. Queens and princesses who indulge 

 in lovers are obliged to descend the few steps from the throne 

 which love would not dare to mount. 



Now this is exactly what the nymph of the nigella does. 

 . Her eager lovers in vain attempt to reach her ; they only 

 arrive within two-thirds of the five points which- ^terminate 

 her. At first she appears to take no notice of their efibrts : 

 she knows that the moment is not come. The anthers, those 

 little masses which bear the pollen, change from green, as 

 they were, to a pale yellow. We have reason to suppose she 

 then finds them more handsome or more touching, for at that 

 moment she lowers her five arms towards her lovers. 



Then her rich blue vestment fades and falls, and her lovers 

 disappear at the same time. Left alone amidst its green hair, 

 the ovary grows, swells, and becomes a sort of capsule, of a 

 brownish-green, in which are contained the seeds which are to 

 reproduce the plant. 



At the top of a high stalk, which springs from a foliage like- 

 wise very much cut, a long spike of flowers, in the form of a 

 helmet, balances itself It is the Aconite, which sprang, 

 they say, from the foam of Cerberus. This was a poison 



