32 
FLORAL POESY. 
TO THE CROCUS. 
PATTERSON. 
Lowly, sprightly little flower ! 
Herald of a brighter bloom, 
Bursting in a sunny hour 
From thy winter tomb. 
Hues you bring, bright, gay, and tender, 
As if never to decay ; 
Fleeting in their varied splendor— 
Soon, alas ! it fades away. 
Thus the hopes I long had cherished 
Thus the friends I long had known, 
One by one, like you, have perished. 
Blighted—I must fade alone. 
APPLE-BLOSSOM. 
( Preference .) 
XN the Scandinavian mythology the apple-tree played 
-L an important part. In the “ Edda,” the goddess 
Iduna is related to have had charge of the apples 
which had the power of conferring immortality, and 
which, in consequence of their miraculous property, 
were especially retained for the gods to eat when they 
felt themselves growing old. The evil spirit, Loki, 
carried off Iduna and the wonderful apple-tree, and hid 
