lotus-flower.
And naturally, in a land of Buddhism like China, the lotus occupies
there an important place, both in art, in poetry, and in popular fancy.
It is recorded that the old Jews regarded the lily, or lotus (_Lilium
candidum_), as a protection against enchantment, and it is said that
Judith wore a wreath of lilies when she went to visit Holofernes, by way
of counteractant charm.

The lotus which is the sacred lily of the East must not be confounded
with the mysterious plant mentioned by Ulysses, and of which Tennyson
has sung--the plant of oblivion and sensuousness. That there is an
element of enchantment about the lily we have seen is still believed in
our own country, but the association of misfortune with it is not
universal. On the contrary, in some parts the leaf of the lily is
supposed to have curative virtues in cases of cuts and wounds, and
Gerarde, the old herbalist, even says that 'the flowers of
lily-of-the-valley, being close stopped up in a glass, put into an
ant-hill, and taken away again a month after, ye shall find a liquor in
the glass, which being outwardly applied, helpeth the gout.' One hears,
perhaps, of no modern experiments having been made with this remedy. But
if not to cure gout, the flower has, it appears, been used to pay rents,
for Grimm says that some lands in Hesse were held upon the condition of
presenting a bunch of lily-of-the-valley every year. This, of course,
would not be the whole burden, and the custom had, no doubt, a religious
origin and significance.

The flower is often associated with the sword of justice, and both the
Dominicans and the Cistercians held it in high honour. It is worth
noting, too, that some traditions make the lily the favourite flower of
St. Cecilia, although the popular legend makes the angel bring her a
bouquet of roses every night from Paradise.

But how did the lily become the badge of France? One tradition is that
it was adopted by the French kings because it was the emblem of purity,
and closely associated with both Christ and Solomon. One old legend has
it that after one of the great battles of the Crusaders, the French
banners were found covered with lilies. According to others, the Fleur
de lys is merely a corruption of Fleur de Luce, or Fleur de Louis, and
was not a lily at all, but the purple iris, which Louis the Seventh
adopted for his emblem on his departure to the Holy Land. On the other
hand, there is a legend that a shield of azure