St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1895-05-03
THELILY OF THE VALLEY.
urne slender vaIley-lily, whose fraI
cells ho1I,,
Dec'"-' --CIiutou HoIIard.

urine slender vaIley-lily, whose fraiI
.,eC Ceil of sweet enchanfment hold"
Heo'"1' Clinton HOIlard.
Emerson said, in speaking Of the
ostcrs at Concord, that we could not
Cad an old flower that was not
"Ioaded with a thought" and we
m;obt add that there is scarcely one
hat legendary lore and the poets
cong have not rendered dear and al.
4 most sacred to us.
The fable which accounts for the
z origin OF the lily of the valley has an
especial charm, for it is associated
with the beautiful and romantic
fctions of fairyland, which are fast
fading away in this matter-of.fact
, age, and now only add grace to
the poets page or painters canvass.
Here is the pretty legend:
The fairies were enjoying a revel
on the lawn, and each airy sprite
carried a tiny cup in which to collect
dew for the fairy queens breakfast.
Neglecting the command that they
should retire before the sun appeared
they danced until his rays dried up
the dewdrops. Their each fay found
to her terror that the small white
cup, which she had suspended on a
blade of grass, had become fixed to
itand could not be detached. They all
wept, dreading the anger of the
queen, who would be deprived Of her
breakfast. But the good fairy god
mother came to the rescue, and pity
ing their distress, she touched with
her magic wand the blades of grass,
thus changing them into broad
green leaves, which hid the white
cups from the queens sight, aud
shielded her disobedient el6n subjects
from her royal wrath and ever since
we have had these exquisite lilies of
the valley.
The botanical name is Convalearia
majalis-Convalearia from the Latin
corvallis, valley, and rica-a man
tie, in allusion to the thick cover
ing which its leaves furnish. 1t is no
new iavorite, but has long been
priced Gerarde, in his Herbal
1886, describes it accurately in his
quaint fashion: The Lily of the Val
ley hath many leaves like the small
est Water-Plalntaine, among which
riseth up naked stake, halle foot
high, garnished with many white
foures like bells, with blunt and
turned edges, of strong SAVIOUR, yet
pleasant enoughf." Liricon-fancy or
Inicumphancy is name bestowed
an it by Robert Herrick.
In John Parkinson's curious book,
published in 1929 and dedicated to
Queen Henrietta Maria, he ascribes
this "Vertue' to the Lily Convally:
The foures of the white kinde are
often used with those that help to
strengthen the memory. :"
de also gives receipt "for making
an oyle OF the flowers, which is very
ettectual to ease pains, and to be used
outwardly." Pliny said the lily Of
the valley must be gathered in sec
reCy before day-break to insure its
efficacy.
1t has been claimed by many that
this dainty white cup, withits gold
en- heart, was "the lily of the field"
spoken of in the Sermon on the
Mount; but this the botanists assert
is impossible. Aside from the fact
that it never grows in the open field,
it is native Of northern climes, and
could not live in the torrid heat of
Palestine. Its luxuriant growth and
spread are partly due to the protec-
ton afforded by the droop Its
blossoms, which wards off the at
tacks of insects, and prevents the
pollen and honey from being washed
away by rain and dew.
Many of the names given to it are
pretty and graceful. In France the
lilies of the valley are the Virgins
tears; and in country villages it is
called Ladder to Heaven. Leigh
Hunt was very fond ofit, and in
alluslon to the way its blossoms
hang, and their peculiar shape,
termed them little illumination
lamps"
Keats loved it, and throughout
his poems referred to "Valley-lilies
Winter still than Lida's love-" and
The sweet lily of the vale, the queen
of flowers.
Shelley's beautiful though familiar
lines are:
vi me naiad.like lily of the vale,
"nom youth makes so fair and passion so
T Tbat the light of its tremulous bells is seen
Many are the tributes paid to it's
purity, humility, and beauty, and
we cannot refrain from adding one
more by Philip Gilbert Hamerton in
Ills Sylvan Year. Where in the
world can there be anything more
perfect than these lilies of the valley !?
LOOK at their twin-leaves, outlined
So delicately, just two of them, per-
tset as the wings of a bird, and the
&c" white bells that tremble on the
slender slender stalk, shedding the sweetest
perfume! Be sure that here we have
oue OF Natures most complete con-
rsptions. You may look upon a
mountain and wish that it were
, r; or more precipitous, upon a
liver and wish that it were clearer,
HHpon tree and desire for it some
Iurther Snrea dinor of ;ts honnrLs Soma