38 
FLORA OF FORFARSHIRE. 
The rose all scent, the heather bell, 
And creeping yellow pimpernel ; 
Trollius, with swelling orbs of gold, — 
And many a blossom here untold, 
Attracts the eye and warms the soul 
With love to Him who formed the whole. 
Yet one among this beauteous throng 
Has oft been overlooked in song, 
Though bright as sunlight in the sky, 
When dipt in morning’s orient dye. 
What time the lark on buoyant wing 
Mounts the clear heavens its joy to sing, 
And from tree-top the mellow thrush, 
And linnet gay from flowering bush, 
Pour out their soul in music sweet, 
The cheering smiles of morn to greet : — 
If thou perchance in rambling mood, 
May pierce the mazes of the wood, 
Or quaff the air that purer breathes 
Upon the open upland heaths, — 
The small St John’s-Wort’s bud and bloom, 
Though gifted not with sweet perfume, 
Will glad thy eye with many a gem, 
That decks its little upright stem. 
Its polished heart-shaped leaves, with grace 
Fondly the upright stem embrace ; — 
So may thy heart with fondness cling 
To uprightness in every thing. 
Its crimsoned buds, its golden flowers, 
Mock the most skilful artist’s powers : 
No eastern prince did e’er possess 
Such beauty in his costliest dress. 
Though Art with Nature may contest, 
Yet is the hand of God confest 
In humblest bloom that paints the heath, 
Or lurks the woodland shades beneath. 
If Beauty, then, can charm thy heart, 
And high and holy thoughts impart, — 
’Tis not in vain that heath and bower 
Display the small St John’s-Wort’s flower. 
Parnassia, L. Grass of Parnassus. 
Br. sp. 1. F. 1. 
P. palustris, L. Common Grass of Parnassus. H. 64 
B. 36. — F. July, Oct., P. 
Plentiful in moist and marshy places throughout the coun- 
ty, varying from one to twelve inches in height, but gene- 
rally five or six. On the sands of Barrie it is Very abundant, 
many of the plants not reaching an inch in height, and often 
bearing a single flower, from the fourth of an inch to more 
