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FLORAL POESY. 
MYRTLE. 
HE Myrtle, like the rose, is generally considered 
_L symbolic of love, and by the Greeks and Romans 
was consecrated to Venus, round whose temples they 
planted groves of it; and, when the votaries of this 
goddess sacrificed to her, they, like her attendant 
Graces, wore myrtle chaplets. 
The Myrtle is supposed to'derive its name from Myr- 
sine, an Athenian maiden, and favorite of Minerva, 
said to have been metamorphosed into the myrtle ; at 
any rate, it owes its origin to a Greek word signifying 
perfume. 
Among the ancient writers who speak of its symbol¬ 
ism is Plmy : he records that the Romans and Sabines, 
when they were reconciled, laid down their weapons 
under a myrtle-tree, and purified themselves with its 
boughs. When Harmodius and Aristogiton set forth 
to free their country from a tyrant, their swords were 
wreathed with myrtle. 
A MYRTLE. 
KEATS. 
A myrtle, fairer than 
E’er grew in Paphos, from the bitter weeds 
Lifts its sweet head into the air, and feeds 
