22 MUSINGS ON FLOWERS. 
They^ in their day, smiled and blossomed ; and 
so should she, who represents the delicacy of the 
flowers, the modesty of its unfolding petals, its 
bloom, and its purity. 
Flowers contain the language and sentiments 
of the heart, thus : The fair lily is an image of 
holy innocence ; the purple rose a figure of unfelt 
love ; faith is represented to us in the blue passion 
flower ; hope beams forth from the evergreen ; 
peace from the olive branch ; immortality from 
immortelle ; the cares of life are represented by 
the rosemary ; the victory of the spirit by the 
palm ; modesty by the blue, fragrant violet ; com- 
passion by the ivy ; tenderness by the myrtle ; af- 
fectionate reminiscence by the forget-me-not ; 
natural honesty and fidelity by the oak leaf; un- 
assumingness by the corn flower; and the auric- 
ula, " how friendly they look upon us with their 
childlike eyes ! " Even the dispositions of the hu- 
man soul are expressed by flowers. Thus silent 
grief is portrayed by the weeping willow ; sadness 
by the angelica ; shuddering by the aspen ; mel- 
ancholy by the cypress ; desire of meeting again 
by the starwort ; the night rocket is a figure of 
life, as it stands on the frontier between light and 
darkness. Thus Nature, by these flowers, seems 
to betoken her loving sympathy with us ; and 
whom hath she not often more consoled than 
heartless and voiceless men are able to do ? 
Anox. 
^- (o) 
