——In Poland, the flower-stalk of the Leek is placed in the hands of the statues of our Saviour on certain special days, to represent the Reed given to Him at the Crucifixion.——Among the Sicilians, the mother of the Apostle Peter is the subject of many legends. She is always represented as bad and niggardly. The only thing she ever gave away was the leaf of a Leek, which she flung to a beggar, who importuned her one day as she was washing her potherbs. When she died, hell received her. Years afterwards, Peter, the doorkeeper of Paradise, heard a piteous voice saying: “Son Peter, see what torments I am in. Go, ask the Lord to let me out.” So Peter went and asked. But the Lord said: “She never did a nail-paring of good. Except this Leek-leaf, she never once gave a scrap away. However, here is a Leek-leaf: this angel shall take it, and shall tell her to lay hold of the other end, while he pulls her up.” So Peter’s mother grasped the Leek-leaf; but all the souls in torment ran after her, and clung to her skirts, so that the angel was dragging quite a string of them after her. Her evil disposition, however, would not permit her to keep quiet. It grieved her avaricious temperament that anyone besides herself should be saved; so she struggled and kicked, in order to shake the poor souls off, and in so doing tore the saving Leek-leaf, and fell back again, and sank deeper than before.
LENT LILIES.—The Daffodil is the Lent Lily. Mingled with Yew, which is the emblem of the Resurrection, it forms an appropriate decoration for Easter. Lent Lilies are called by the French Pauvres Filles de Ste. Clare. (See [Narcissus]).
LENTIL.—Like almost all vegetables, Lentils are traditionally regarded as funereal plants: formerly they were forbidden at all sacrifices and feasts.——St. Hilarion, when he arrived at man’s estate, subsisted for three years upon Lentils steeped in cold water.——To dream of Lentils is supposed to indicate sorrow and anxiety.
LETTUCE.—Pythagoras, we are told, was extremely fond of Lettuces, which formed a large portion of his diet; but Eubulus is said to have bitterly reproached his wife for having served up at a meal Lettuces, which were only recommended for funeral repasts.——The ancients considered the Lettuce (Lactuca) as an aliment appropriate in times of mourning, and they employed it largely in their funeral repasts in commemoration of the death of Adonis, son of Myrrha, whom Venus had concealed in a bed of Lettuces, and whose death had occurred from a wound inflicted by a wild boar that had come to feed on the Lettuces, and so surprised the beautiful youth.——Another legend states that the young man hidden by Venus in the Lettuce bed was Phaon, the handsome boatman of Lesbos, and not Adonis.——In mediæval days, it was superstitiously thought that an evil spirit lurked in a bed of Lettuces, and a species known by women as Astylida was believed to affect mothers adversely, and to cause grievous ills to newly-born infants. Perhaps this may account for a saying often heard at Richmond, Surrey:—“O’er-much Lettuce in the garden will stop a young wife’s bearing.”——The old poets prescribed a bed of Lettuce for those who were unable to obtain repose; and Pliny states that Lettuces of all descriptions were thought to cause sleep. Pope, referring to its soporific qualities, has said of the Lettuce:—
“If your wish be rest,
“Lettuce and Cowslip wine, probatum est.”
Gerarde remarks that, if eaten after supper, this vegetable prevents the drunkenness resulting from too free indulgence in wine.——Lettuce is stated by the Mishna to be one of the five “bitter herbs” ordered to eaten by Jews at the Feast of the Passover.——To dream of eating salads made of Lettuce, &c., is supposed to portend trouble and difficulty in the management of affairs.
LILY.—The white Lily (Lilium candidum) was held in the highest regard by the heathen nations; it was one of the flowers employed to form the couch of Jupiter and Juno, and under the name of Rosa Junonis was consecrated to the imperious queen of the heavens, from whose milk, indeed, the flower is stated to have originally sprung. The legend is as follows:—Jupiter being desirous of rendering the infant Hercules immortal, that he might rank among the divinities, caused Somnus to prepare a nectareous sleeping-draught, which he persuaded Juno to take. The Queen of the Gods fell immediately into a profound slumber, and Jupiter then placed the little Hercules to the celestial breast, in order that the babe might imbibe the ambrosial milk that would ensure its immortality. The infant, over-eager to enjoy the delightful nutriment, drew the milk faster than he could swallow, and some drops falling to the earth, there immediately sprang from it the white Lily, the emblem of purity: some of the milk is also said to have dropped over that portion of the heavens which, from its whiteness, still retains the name of the Milky Way (lactea via). Another version of the myth states that originally all the Lilies were Orange-coloured, but that those on which Juno’s milk fell were rendered white, and produced the Lilium candidum.——The Lily was doubtless cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and probably held in great esteem, for we find it appearing in their hieroglyphical representations, and may therefore conclude that the flower possessed some special significance. With the Greeks and Romans, the Lily was a favourite flower, and Columella tells us that the latter were wont to preserve Lilies by planting them in baskets. The frequent allusions made to the plant in the Scriptures are sufficient proof that the Hebrew race thought highly of the beauty and grace of the Lily. In their language, the name Susannah signifies a Lily. There are great diversities of opinion as to what was the particular Lily alluded to by our Saviour when He said, “Consider the Lilies of the field.” Some think the Tulip, others the Amaryllis lutea, others again the white Lily to be the flowers to which Solomon in all his glory was not to be compared.——In nearly every Catholic country, the White Lily is dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and is held to be emblematic of her purity: hence the flower is frequently used to decorate her shrine, and especially so on the feast of the Visitation of Our Lady and the Annunciation. The Continental order of the Blessed Lady of the Lily was instituted by Garcia, fourth King of Navarre, on account of an image of the Holy Virgin being miraculously found, as it was reported, in a Lily, which is believed to have cured this prince of a dangerous disorder.——Rapin, the French Jesuit poet, has the following lines on the Lily, which he evidently confounds with the Iris, or Fleur de Luce (see [Iris]), as being the representative flower of the French nation. He says:—
“With Lilies our French monarchs grace their crown,
Brought hither by the valiant Hector’s son,