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LANGUAGE AND 
Were thine eyes sealed to those sweet lessens, taught 
In the dim oracles of leaf and tree, 
I had not made them messengers of thought, 
Dear friend, to thee. 
But take them now, for they will talk to thee 
In the sweet accents of poetic lore; 
Heed their soft pleadings—kindly ‘think of me’— 
I ask no more. 
The Iris , typical of a message , claims the 
whole world as her country, different members 
of the family dwelling in every quarter of the 
globe. Some of the species have very large 
flowers, and, from their colors being very vivid, 
and several uniting in the same blossom, are ex¬ 
tremely showy. The Persian Iris is the most 
esteemed for the beauty and fragrance of its 
flotvers: a fetv of them will perfume a tvhole 
room. Their colors are a mixture of pale sky- 
blue, purple, yellow, and sometimes Avhite. It 
is from their brilliant and diversified hues, re¬ 
sembling those of the rainboAV, that they have 
been named after the messenger of the gods. 
It is Avell knoAvn that the fair Iris was the 
bearer of good neAvs only. 
“ She knew she was by him beloved—she knew, 
For quickly comes such knowledge, that his heart 
Was darkened with her shadow, and she saw 
That he was wretched, hut she saw not all.” 
Byron. 
