DAISY. 



" Child of the Year ! that round dost run 

 Thy course, bold lover of the sun, 

 And cheerful when the day 's begun 



As morning leveret, 



Thy * long-lost praise thou shalt regain ; 

 Dear shalt thou be to future men 

 As in old time ; thou, not in vain, 



Art Nature's favourite." 



Nor in vain is it a favourite with the poet, who emulates 

 Chaucer himself in doing it honour. At one time he de- 

 scribes it as 



" A nun demure, of lowly port ; 

 Or sprightly maiden of Love's court, 

 In her simplicity the sport 



Of all temptations. 

 A queen in crown of rubies drest ; 

 A starveling in a scanty vest ; 

 Are all as seems to suit it best, 



Its appellations. 



" A little Cyclops with one eye 

 Staring to threaten and defy, 

 That thought comes next, and instantly 



The freak is over, 



The shape will vanish; and, behold ! 

 A silver shield with boss of gold, 

 That spreads itself, some faery bold 

 In fight to cover." 



But again we must remember this is not to be a re- 

 print of Mr. Wordsworth's poems. 



Of the Garden Daisy there are many varieties : the 

 Double White; Red; Red and White Striped; the 

 Variegated; the Proliferous, or Hen and Chicken, &c. 

 These, indeed, are but double varieties of the Field 

 Daisy, but less prolific, and flowering only for a few 

 months April, May, and June. 



* See in Chaucer and the elder poets, the honours formerly paid to 

 this flower. 



