IKDIGEXOUS FLOWERS. 109 



"Were I, O God, in churchlcss lands remaining, 

 Far from all voice of teachers or divines, 

 My soul would find in flowers of thy ordaining, 

 Priests, sermons, shrines." 



The following extracts from "Letters from the Bahama 

 Islands," written by an American lady in 1823-4, give an account 

 of some of the more prominent flowers to be seen in Nassau and 

 its suburbs. 



" The indigenous plants and flowers, and flowering shrubs are 

 abundant and beautiful; and, it is said, there are five thousand 

 varieties. I am very fond of the mignonette tree; it bears pale 

 yellow and green flowers, and has the most powerful and delicious 

 fragrance. The acacia is very different from that of the same 

 name with us; the flower is a little, round, yellow ball, about 

 the size of a chestnut, looks like a tuft of fringe, and is filled 

 with a yellow powder and has a sweet j)erfume. The blossom of 

 the mahogany tree is beautiful, and so is the yellow and crimson 

 flower fence or Barbadoe's pride. The coral tree is very curious; 

 the flower looks like a bunch of red, cut coral, and grows at the 

 top of the branch distinct from any leaves; the stem, which is 

 five or six inches long, stands perfectly erect, and, though beau- 

 tiful, it is ungraceful. The coral vino bears a blossom of the 

 same color and shape, find runs in wild profusion over all the 

 stone walls and hedges, but has no odor. Myrtles, jessamines, 

 tuberoses, and roses, the amaryllis of every species, the convolvu- 

 lus, the sensitive plant, and Arabian jasmine, ar§ seen in every 

 direction, and grow wild among the rocks. Groves of the olean- 

 der are very common, and, prized as they are with you, are 

 thought almost vulgar here, as well as the beautiful south-sea 

 rose. The mutable rose is a native of this climate; the bignonia 

 bears a yellow trumpet flower; the blue passion flower, which 



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