The learned and devout prelate then proceeds to draw out the lesson which the flower teaches, but as we have already quoted those verses in an article on the Lily of the Valley, we presume that many of our readers are already in possession of them.

*

We think it certain that the Scarlet Martagon Lily is intended. Dr. Bowring, writing to a friend, says that he is unable to describe the lily of Palestine with botanical accuracy. He heard it called Lilia Syriaca. Its colour is a brilliant red; its size about half that of the common tiger lily. He did not recollect having ever seen the white lily in Syria. The flower he names, he observed blooming in April and May. It was most abundant in the district of Galilee, (where our Lord delivered the lesson we have quoted), where it and the Rhododendron (which grew in rich abundance round the paths), most strongly excited his attention. Dr. Lindley (Ph. D.) remarks on this that Dr. Bowring's description seemed to point to the Chalcedonian or Scarlet Martagon Lily, formerly called the Lily of Byzantium, found from the Adriatic to the Levant, and which, with its scarlet turban-like flowers, is a most stately and striking object.

Favourite Field Flowers, vol. 1, page 179.

THE MYRTLE.

Hadas; Heb. Myrtus; L. Le Myrte; Fr. Die Myrte; Ger. Myrtus; Mirto; It. and Sp. Aukaenda; Cey. Myrter; Dan. Myrten ;

Dut.
Swed.

We like to regard the Myrtle as a shrub whose height rarely exceeds six feet. In this form it is familiar to us, and highly prized both on account of its deep green foliage, with which it is clad throughout the year, and the delicious fragrance of its flowers. The leaves are small, of an ovate shape, and of a glossy smoothness. The long branches, which are very flexible, have a reddish tinge. The white flowers, sometimes having their margin red, grow singly from the axil of the leaves. They bloom variously, in the East, as early as the month of May; in colder climates, from July to August. The fruit is a round berry, of a very deep brown colour, which encloses a number of pale seeds. The Myrtle was a great favourite with the ancients, who liked the aromatic flavour and taste of the flowers and leaves. It was much used by the Romans in the formation of chaplets and garlands, and hence it was cultivated as a source of profit, the flexible branches being readily saleable in towns. Its highly ornamental character rendered it a desirable shrub in the grounds of the wealthy, where it was planted in conjunction with the laurel and the plane. Horace introduces it in his description of the growing luxuries of the age

Tum violaria et

Myrtus et omnis copia narium

Spargent olivetis odorem

Fertilibus domino priori.

He foresaw that lands, once yielding a handsome revenue to their owners when planted with olives, would soon become the pleasure grounds of the luxuriant, when they would be parcelled out in beds of violets, and planted with the Myrtle and every sweet smelling flower. Virgil has also told us how sweet the fragrance was which charged the air as it passed among the myrtles and laurels in the gardens of Corydon

Et vos, o lauri, carpam, et te, proxima myrte;
Sic positæ quoniam suaves miscetis odores.
Rusticus es, Corydon, nec munera curat Alexis.

The wild Myrtle is a native of mountain heights and precipitous declivities. In the Holy Scriptures we find the tree, which in the East frequently grows to the height of twenty feet, mentioned amongst those whose branches were to be used in the erection of booths, when the Jews celebrated the feast of Tabernacles, on their return from the Babylonian captivity. "Go forth unto the mount, and fetch olive-branches, and pine-branches, and myrtle-branches, and palm-branches, and branches of thick trees, to make booths ;" (Nehem. viii. 15). This was such a feast as they had not enjoyed since the days of Joshua, for nearly a thousand years. And well indeed it might, for they had been set free from captivity, the temple was again built, and dedicated to the service of God, notwithstanding many obstacles and the walls of the city were nearly completed, if not entirely so. Once more they had become a people separated from among the nations of the

earth; once more they were permitted to worship the God of their Fathers in the holy mountain; and this was brought about "not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the LORD of Sabaoth," (Zech. iv. 6), in Whose hand "the king's heart is as the rivers of water: He turneth it whithersoever He will." (Prov. xxi. 1).

In the second place it occurs in an animated picture of the rapid and plentiful diffusion of the knowledge of the Lord. "When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them,......I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys : I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah (acacia)-tree, and the myrtle, and the oil (olive)-tree: I will set in the desert the fir-tree, and the pine, and the box-tree together;" (Is. xli. 17 —19). And again, "Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree;" (Is. lv. 13). Both these prophecies refer, probably, to the golden age of Israel after the Babylonish captivity, but they can hardly have been entirely fulfilled by the rich blessings which the Jews then enjoyed. Rather they seem to point to the work which is now being so effectually carried on among the nations who have been long sitting in darkness. The Spirit of God is moving upon the dense mass of ignorance which covers them, and they thirst after light, and rivers of Divine knowledge are being opened and are conveying their fructifying waters through all lands. Where the soil brought forth nothing but vice and cor

ruption which destroyed the bodies and souls of men, there the incorruptible cedar, the word of God, the tree of life, is spreading its branches, and yielding its leaves for the healing of the nations; there the fragrant Myrtle grows, the sweet incense of prayer from loving hearts ascends to heaven, a smell of a sweet savour acceptable unto God; and there the olive-tree pours forth its oil, the oil of joy and gladness; that joy and peace in believing which the redeemed sinner possesses, when cleansed from his sins by the blood of the Lamb, when sanctified by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost.

The Myrtle-tree is also mentioned in Zechariah, ch. i. 8, 10, 11; where the prophet says that he saw a "Man......among the Myrtle-trees......in the bottom (valley)." This is the Son of Man, Who is prepared as a warrior to execute vengeance upon the enemies of His people, who are represented by the "Myrtle-trees" in the valley, which situation points out the low estate of the Church. We perceive how appropriately the Myrtle may represent the true believer, when we consider the wicked and the ungodly as represented by the entangling brier, and the stinging nettle. These last being hurtful and injurious to all who come in contact with them, while the former is productive of whatever is pleasing and agreeable.