INTRODUCTION 



LADY'S BOOK OF FLOWERS AND POETRY 



" Who does not love a flower, ^ 



Its hues are taken from the light 

 Which summer's suns fling pure and bright, 

 In scattered and prismatic hues, 

 That smile and shine in dropping dews ; 

 Its fragrance from the sweetest air, 

 Its form from all that 's light and fair, 



Who does not love a flower." 



Brainard. 



The above lines express too fully the natural sen- 

 timents of the heart, to need any formal remarks from 

 us on the beauties of flowers. Dear to all are these 

 favorite children of Nature, smiling out from the soli- 

 tary nook, and blooming amid high and rugged cliffs. 

 Linked with many a fond association, may be the sim- 

 plest flower, from the " rosemary^'* w^hich is for " re- 

 membrance," to the wild flower of the fields, which 

 brings back to us a thousand bright recollections of 

 sunny and rambling hoiirs, when a fair unclouded future 



