Music of the Wild 



sinking soul again might see with his latest vision 

 the white sign of holiness. 



There is music all the day among the rushes 

 rustling ^\ith eacli breeze, and where they harp the 

 purest note of God these white lilies grow. Their 

 stems and buds are round, and the leaves wonder- 

 ful. They are a fine arrow-shape, and some in 

 this study were almost two feet in length, having 

 a stout midrib, grooved on the upper surface, with 

 deep veins on the under. Both bloom and leaf 

 stems are round, and the bud is a perfect little 

 globe, the sign of the earth. The lilies open with 

 three sim2)le petals that spread widely and curve 

 with indescriliable grace, so that light and shadow 

 are caught on the face of the same bloom. No 

 other >\'hite flower I know has the fineness of tex- 

 ture of the arrowhead petals; similar to pearls is 

 the only comparison. Then they have a heart of 

 gold, for the anthers are yellow, which adds rich- 

 ness to the 2)etals. 



Each stalk bears six clusters of bloom. The 

 flowers are set on stems of sufficient length to dis- 

 jjlay their beauty fully without crowding. Three 

 blooms are placed at equal distances in a circle 

 around the stem, and three inches above another 

 circle, each stalk terminating in a cluster of four 

 blooms: three around the stem, and one on the tip. 

 The fragile, ethereal whiteness of the l)loom is 

 further enhanced l)y the surroundings. The back- 



380 



