THE VIOLET OF THE VALLEY. 29 
THE VIOLET OF THE VALLEY. 
YOUR MODESTY AND AMIABILITY HAVE CAUSED ME TO 
CONFESS MY LOVE. 
Eraiilcms. 
BLUE VIOLET— modesty; WHITE JASMINE— amiability; 
MOSS-ROSE —confession of love ; PINK —pure love. 
f 
“Violets dim, 
But sweeter than the lids of Juno’s eyes, 
Or Cytherea’s breath.” —Shakspeare. 
In one of those secluded valleys whose beauty 
astonishes the traveller as he comes upon it unaware, 
stood a neat-looking, lowly-thatched cottage, like a 
hidden nest embosomed amid the tranquillity of the 
hills. A winding footpath threaded its way toward 
the green summit,—here running along the narrow 
level of a ledge, there making a graceful bend round 
the bole of some majestic tree, and farther on climb¬ 
ing upward, with a steep, breathless ascent, until the 
