THE lotus lily is spoken of as “the peer-less flower of Farther India.” From an article, which is too long to give you entire, I shall cull some interesting items about this flower for your benefit.

It is a kind of water lily, and is considered a wonderful flower by the people of the countries in which it is found. In Egypt it was once considered sacred to their gods, and in India the Hindoo gods are often represented as seated upon the expanded flower. In China and Japan it is closely connected with Buddha, and has a large place in the worship of that god. In China the lotus lily symbolizes womanly beauty, the small feet of women being called kin leen, or golden lilies.

The petals of the lotus lily are rose-pink, growing brighter and redder toward the tips, where one can almost imagine the life-blood of the flower is oozing out, and will soon drop upon the white mat of the table. Opening the rosy lips, the golden heart of the flower is disclosed surrounded by a silky fringe of the stamens of the same bright hue, edged with pure white pollen. The leaves of the plant are dark-green, almost round, and lie or float upon the bosom of the lake. The stems are like long green serpents, rearing their spiral forms from the black ooze beneath the water, and holding aloft their banners of green and blossoms of beauty and fragrance.

But notwithstanding the fact that the plant is held sacred, many of the Chinese cultivate it for sale. The fragrant blossoms reach a diameter of ten inches, and find ready purchasers. The seeds are used as an article of food; sometimes eaten raw, sometimes ground and made into cakes.

The fleshy stems are used as a vegetable, while the fibres of the leaf-stalks serve for lamp-wicks.

The ancient Egyptians used to inclose the seeds in balls of clay or mud and cast them into the Nile, and in due season the plant appeared, followed by buds, flowers and seeds. Does that make you think of a Bible verse?

In Siam the lotus lilies grow in great profusion, and one may sail for miles along the rivers through flooded fields covered with the lotus blossoms, which the natives are gathering for market.

Then there are the royal lotus gardens of Bangkok. These are several miles from the king’s palace. There is a carriage road leading out from the city, and these gardens are a famous place for picnics. At the grand funeral ceremonies of the Queen of Siam, one of the companies which walked in the procession carried tridents, the triple tips of which were each crowned with the white lotus. Every year thousands of real and artificial lilies are floated on the rivers and sea as offerings of the water spirits.

They are launched at night, with little wax tapers burning, and they are loaded with offerings to the gods.

Many beautiful fancies cluster about the lotus, and many songs have been written, which you may appreciate the more if you happen upon them, for knowing something about the beautiful fragrant flower “trembling on the crystal tide.”