Naictesus arrtir ©affoiriL 65 
Narcissus and Daffodil. ... Self-Love. 
There are several species of the Narcissus. The 
Yellow Narcissus is better known as the Daffodil, and 
bears much resemblance to the Yellow Lily. The 
Poetic Narcissus is the largest of the species, and may 
be distinguished by the crimson border of the very 
shallow and almost flat cup of the nectary. Shaks- 
peare, in his Winter’s Tale, speaks of 
Daffodils, 
That come before the swallow dares, and taste 
The winds of March, with beauty. 
The ancients attributed the origin of the Narcissus to 
the metamorphosis of a beautiful youth of that name, 
who, having slighted the love of the nymph Echo, be¬ 
came enamoured of his own image, which he beheld in 
a fountain, and pined to death in consequence. 
I wandered lonely, as a cloud 
That floats on high o’er vales and hills 
When all at once I saw a crowd, 
A host of'golden Daffodils; 
Beside the lake, beneath the trees, 
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. 
Continuous as the stars that shine 
And twinkle on the milky way, 
They stretched in never-ending line 
Along the margin of the bay; 
Ten thousand saw I at a glance, 
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance. 
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