POETRY OF FLOWERS. 143 
Thomson, in his “ Seasons,” could not of 
course overlook this flower, and in “ Spring,” 
thus tunes his lyre to hymn its praise: 
“ Shrubs there are 
. . . That at the call of Spring 
Burst forth in blossomed fragrance; lilacs, robed 
In snow-white innocence or purple pride.” 
When the lilac-blossom has attained its ma¬ 
turity, it begins to gradually change color, until 
at last it becomes of a red hue ; and this afforded 
Cowper an opportunity of terming them san¬ 
guine : 
“The lilac, various in array—now white, 
Now sanguine, and her beauteous head now set 
With purple spikes pyramidal; as if, 
Studious of ornament, yet unresolved 
AVhich hues she most approves, she chose them all.” 
So sweet a blossom is the lilac, and so sweet 
are the emotions it represents, that every one 
must concede that it is one of those lovely and 
beloved plants which unite the qualities Goethe 
ascribes to some flowers, of being beautiful only 
to the eye, and others only to the heart. 
From the purity of its color and the short 
dui-ation of its lovely clusters of blossoms, white 
lilac has been made the emblem of youth. 
