bable, that it is the facility with w'hich they grow, 
and the readiness, with which they yield us their 
splendour, that generates the neglect they have ex- 
perienced. It surely, is one of the prominent frailties 
of human nature, that* we are incapable of duly ap- 
preciating those favours, which are offered to us at 
little cost. The inference is plain ; we place a ficti- 
tious value on what we desire, and on what we pos- 
sess; and it may be instructive to carry our re- 
searches further into the affairs of this present life, 
and endeavour to ascertain what real importance 
attaches to any of those objects, which we aim to 
obtain. It may be useful, although disagreeable, to 
discover that we run after bubbles, which burst in 
the hand. 
Pliny has a curious notice regarding Lilies. 
His description, probably alludes to some of the 
Amaryllidaceae. He says that some fantastical 
spirits have invented an artificial method of dy- 
ing Lilies. In July, when they begin to wither, 
they take them up, and hang them in the smoke 
to dry. When the roots begin to shoot, about 
March, they steep them in the lees of deep red 
wine, or some Greekish wine, and they take up 
the colour therefrom. Afterwards, they set them 
in trenches; into which they pour more wine, and 
by these means the Lilies become purple. Won- 
derful, he says it is, that a root should take so deep 
a tincture, as to produce a flower of the same co- 
lour. We, also, think it wonderful ; notwithstand- 
ing which, we shall have much pleasure in hearing 
from any fantastical spirit, who may be curious 
enough to try this experiment of the ancients. 
Hort. Kevv.2, v. 2, 241. 
