" Bear a lily in thy hand, 

 Gates of brass will not withstand 

 The touch of that same magic wand." 



THE association of certain ideas 

 with certain flowers dwells in 

 the mind of every one of us, 

 and the lily in its many forms is per- 

 haps more closely entwined with reli- 

 gion, Christian and pagan, than any 

 other flower. 



In the first garden of all, according 

 to the Talmud, there dwelt with Adam, 

 before Eve was sent to comfort him, 

 a certain golden-haired woman named 

 Lilith, whose fatal charm lay in her 

 honey-coloured hair. Her emblem was 

 a lily. Diana, cool as moonlight, and 

 Juno, the queen of heaven, both have 

 the lily as their flower. 

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