130 
HIDDEN MERIT. 
significant of splendour, and, perhaps, we 
have no flowering plant more beautifully gay 
than the amaryllis. 
HEALING. 
BALM OF GILEAD. 
This exquisite balm was justly esteemed by 
the ancients, and seems to have been prepared 
by nature to soften our pains. We often em¬ 
ploy the word balm in a moral sense, to ex¬ 
press that which tempers and soothes our sor¬ 
rows. Beneficent virtue and tender friend¬ 
ship are true balms which heal the wounds of 
the heart, — wounds a thousand times more 
insupportable than all physical ills. 
HIDDEN MERIT. 
CORIANDER. 
When fresh gathered, this plant has a 
powerful and very disagreeable smell. It is 
extensively cultivated in Essex; the seeds, 
which are slightly aromatic, are used to cover 
the taste of senna, and in spices, as curry 
powder. They are also believed to possess 
considerable medicinal properties of great 
value. 
