MAIDEN HAIR. 
203 
MAIDEN HAIR. 
SECRECY. 
Up to the present day, botanists have in vain 
studied this plant, which seems to conceal from 
the most searching examination the secret of its 
flowers and seed, confiding to Zephyr alone the 
invisible germs of its young family. That deity 
selects a spot for the cradle of its offspring. 
Sometimes he delights to form with its long 
tresses the dark veil hung before some cavern, 
in which the solitary Naiad has slept ever since 
the beginning of ages; at others, bearing them 
on his wings, he fixes them like verdant stars on 
the top of the towers of some old castle, or, dis¬ 
posing them in light festoons, he adorns with 
them the cool and shady spots which the herds¬ 
man loves. Thus this species of fern, which 
baffles the researches of Science, and conceals 
its origin from the most piercing eyes, does not 
withhold its benefits from those who solicit 
them. 
