OLD SAXON FLOWERS. 
69 
matter of doubt among botanists. To an old angler 
like myself, who has lost many a hook and had his 
lines entangled among their stems after they had sunk 
below the waters, there can be no doubt at all; but 
whether this might be the case in very shallow streams, 
or “ made ponds,” is another matter ; my experience is 
confined to ancient delfts and old out-of-the-way meres 
and places, that yet retain their ancient Saxon names, 
where the true English Water-lilies still grow. The 
bard of Erin says— 
“ Those virgin lilies all the night 
Bathing their beauties in the lake, 
That they may rise more fresh and bright 
When their beloved sun’s awake.” 
The “Bonny Broom” is familiar to every lover of 
the country, and cannot be mistaken for the gorse or 
furze, even in the dark ; for, although their flowers are 
very similar, there is a difference in the latter, which 
is soon “felt.” The Broom is one of England’s oldest 
flowers, and was as familiar to the eye of the ancient 
Briton as it is to our own ; neither has its name under¬ 
gone any change, for Alfred the Great called it the 
Broom, as we do now. I have chosen to carry it far¬ 
ther back than the days of the Plantagenets, for the 
