14^ ELMiNA, A TALE^ June !•» 



The nofegay that adorns the bride, 

 Ev'n while it charms, extorts a figh. 

 Ye flow'rs fo gay, our gardens pride, 

 What pity thou fo fonn muft die! 



I've heard my fifters, there 's a flow'r. 

 That keeps its vivid tiiits for aye; 

 To find it, I've raiifack'd the bow'r 

 The mead, the rill, fo pure and ^ay. 



I'vefearch'd in vain; all thefe do fade; 

 See how their heads begin to droop. 

 Sweet flow'rs ! thy fate I mourn, (he faid. 

 And turn'd her from th' attentive troop. 



Elmina ftopt. All the garlands were finllKed, and ^er 

 companions rofe up. What (hall we do now, faid they ? 

 We have fine garlands and crowns. Let us play the beau- 

 ty of the rondeau. That was a play which the young girls 

 of that country had invented. They chofe the moft ami- 

 able of he company, dreft her out in the gayeft manner,: 

 and crowned her with flowers y then they fung and danced 

 around ber. It was, however, a very delicate affair to 

 make this choice, and what I fhould not like to meddle with, 



• to choofe the moft beautiful among a troop of young girls : 

 nor could they eafily agree among themfelves on this point. 

 Several of them wilhed to crown Elmina ; but (he was too 

 modell to believe herfelf the moft amiable y and (he thought 



• feveral of her companions were charming : for (he was not 

 in the leaft jealous of the beauty of others. My friends, 

 faid (he to them, a notion has come into my head — Let 

 each of us gather a favourite flower, and put them all into 

 a hat •, then throw the whole up in the air •, and the girl 

 whofe flower (hall go fartheft, (hall be the beauty of the 

 Tondeau. They all approved of this happy thought, and 

 went each to choofe her favourite flower. 



, Among the companions of Elmina, there was one young 

 princefs who was called Malinette, and who was very ma- 

 lignant and vain. She ran into a neighbouring field and 

 picked out a blewet, which fl\e put into the hat, after hav- 

 ing dexteroufly rolled the (talk about a fmall pebble. 

 I It is eafy to devife why this fly girl did fo : by this 

 trick, her flower becoming the heaviefl, ought to be thrown 



