Typical Bouquets. 
339 
LOVER. 
'‘I give to thee a faded wreath, 
Teaching thee, alas! too well, 
How I spent my latest breath, 
Seeking all my truth to tell; 
But thy coldness made me die 
Victim of thy cruelty. 
LADY. 
‘ ‘ I give to thee the honey-flower, 
Courteous, best, and bravest knight; 
Fragrant in the Summer shower, 
Shrinking from the sunny light: 
May it not an emblem prove 
Of untold, but tender love?” 
Many of the Scotch poets have availed themselves of the 
charming fancies of floralic emblems with which to paint the 
emotions of loving, and portray the beauties of their beloved. 
None of them have made more successful incursions into these 
tempting blossomy realms of floral romance than has Burns, 
as for instance, in his pretty “ Posie,” of which lyric, Professor 
Wilson remarked, that similar sentiments inspired Meleager, 
in the composition of his symbolic “Garland of Heliodora:” 
“ O luve will venture in where it dauma weel be seen; 
O luve will venture in where wisdom aince has been; 
But I will down yon river rove, amang the wood sae green— 
And a’ to pu’ a posie to my ain dear May. 
“ The primrose I will pu’, the firstling of the year, 
And I will pu’ the pink, the emblem o’ my dear, 
For she’s the pink o’ womankind, and blooms without a peer— 
And a’ to be a posie to my ain dear May. 
6£ I ’ll pu’ the budding rose when Phoebus peeps in view. 
For it’s like a bonnie kiss o’ her sweet bonnie mou’; 
The hyacinth for constancy, mu’ its unchanging blue— 
And a’ to be a posie to my ain dear May. 
The lily it is pure, and the lily it is fair, 
And in her lovely bosom I ’ll place the lily there; 
The daisy’s for simplicity and unaffected air— 
And a’ to be a posie to my ain dear May. 
** The hawthorn I will pu’, with its locks o’ siller gray, 
Where, like an aged man, it stands at break of day. 
But the songster’s nest within the bush I winna’ tak’ away— 
And a’ to be a posie to my ain dear May. 
e ‘ The woodbine I will pu’ when the e’ening star is near, 
And the diamond-drops of dew shall be her een sae clear; 
The violet’s for modesty which weel she fa’s to wear— 
And a’ to be a posie to my ain dear May. 
I ’ll tie the posie round wi’ the silken band o’ luve, 
And I ’ll place it in her breast, and I ’ll swear by a’ above, 
That to my latest draught of life the band shall ne’er remove— 
And this will be a posie to my ain dear May.” 
How, had he read this heartfelt “simple lay,” could Holmes 
have sung; 
22 — 2 
