120 
LANGUAGE AND 
Hyacinthus, a Laconian youth, greatly favored 
by Apollo, and much admired for his beauty 
lie fell a victim to the jealous rage of Zephyrus, 
who, in revenge for the preference manifested 
for him by the Sun-god, had determined to effect 
his destruction. Accordingly, one day when 
the ill-fated youth was playing at quoits with 
his divine friend, Zephyrus blew so powerfully 
upon the iron flung by Apollo that it struck the 
unfortunate Hyacinthus on the temple and killed 
him, to the intense grief of his innocent slayer. 
To commemorate the grace and beauty of the 
poor young prince, for such he was, Apollo, un¬ 
able to restore him to life, caused the flower 
which now bears his name to spring from his 
blood. Thus it Avas that the hyacinth, so cele¬ 
brated in the songs of the poets from the days 
of Homer doAvnwards, became the floral hiero¬ 
glyphic of play , although one would certainly 
have thought that a more sober meaning could 
have been awarded to a bloom reputed to have 
had so melancholy an origin. 
“In gentle love the sweetest joys we find— 
Yet even those joys, dire jealousy molests, 
And blackens each fair image in our breasts.” 
Lyttelton. 
“A slight, a single glance, 
And shot at random, often has brought home 
A sudden fever to the throbbing heart.” 
Young. 
