®mujs. 
23 
I might have been,—ah, me! 
Thrice sager than I e’er shall be. 
For what says Time ? 
Alas! he only shows the truth 
Of all that I was told in youth. 
Barry Cornwall. 
Crocus.... Youth. 
The Crocus is one of the earliest of the spring flow¬ 
ers, and, therefore, a fit emblem of the spring of life. 
It is a small flower, of variegated hues; the principal 
being purple, yellow, and white. The Crocus Vernus, 
or Spring Crocus, is a wild flower now in various parts 
of England, though not considered to be really a native 
of the country. We learn from the favourite writers, 
Mr. and Mrs. Howitt, that they are plentiful about 
Nottingham, “gleaming at a distance like a perfect 
flood of lilac, and tempting very many little hearts, and 
many graver ones too, to go out and gather. 
Oh ! many a glorious flower there grows 
In far and richer lands; 
But high in my affection e’er 
The beautiful Crocus stands. 
I love their faces, when by one 
And two they’re looking out; 
I love them when the spreading field 
Is purple all about. 
I loved them in the by-gone years 
Of childhood’s thoughtless laughter, 
When I marvelled why the flowers came first, 
And the leaves the season after. 
