446 FLORA DOMESTICA. 



" The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair, 

 And in her lovely bosom,, I'll place the lily there ; 

 The daisy 's for simplicity and unaffected air ; 

 And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May. 



" The hawthorn I will pu'.wi' its locks o' siller gray, 

 Where, like an aged man, it stands at break o' day ; 

 But the songster's nest within the bush I winna take away ; 

 And a* to be a posie to my ain dear May. 



" The woodbine I will pu', when the ev'ning star is near, 

 And the diamond drops o' dew shall be her een sae clear ; 

 The violet's for modesty, which weel she fa's to wear, 

 And a' to be a posie to my ain dear May. 



" I'll tie the posie round wi' the silken band o' luve, 

 And I '11 place it in her breast, and I '11 swear by all abuve, 

 That to my latest draught of life, the band shall ne'er remove ; 

 And this shall be a posie to my ain dear May." 



Another of our rustic poets, Clare, has a poem addressed 

 to the Violet, in the second volume of his Village Minstrel, 

 &c. ; in the first volume, in a poem entitled Holywell, he 

 speaks of it as one of the first signs of Spring : 



" And just to say the Spring was come 

 The violet left her woodland home, 

 And, hermit-like, from storms and wind 

 Sought the best shelter it could find^ 

 'Neath long grass banks." 



" Welcome, maids of honour, 

 You do bring 

 In the spring, 

 And wait upon her. 



" She has virgins many, 

 Fresh and fair ; 

 Yet you are 

 More sweet than any. 



<f Ye are maiden posies, 

 And so graced. 

 To be placed 

 'Fore damask roses. 



