DIRGE OF FLOWERS. 
293 
When rose and lily fade, 
And later amaranths fail, 
And leaves in grove and glade 
Assume a russet shade. 
And shiver in the gale, 
Or withering strew the chilly plain 
With blighted hopes of summer’s reign ;— 
''Tis then, when sternly lours. 
O’er nature’s changing face. 
Dark clouds and drifting showers, 
Ye come, ye come, sweet flowers ! 
With meek and touching grace } 
And o’er the parting season’s wing, 
A wreath of lingering beauty fling. 
The hare-bell, bright and blue, 
That loves the dingle wild, 
In whose cerulean hue, 
Heaven’s own blest tint we view, 
On days serene and mild ; 
How beauteous, like an azure gem, 
■She droopeth from her graceful stem ! 
The foxglove’s purple bell, 
On bank and upland plain y 
The scarlet pimpernel, 
And daisy in the del!, 
That kindly blooms again. 
