98 
THE MORAL OF FLOWERS. 
THE WHITE ROSE. 
ROSA ALBA. 
“ A single rose is shedding there 
Its lonely lustre, meek and pale : 
It looks as planted by Despair— 
So white—so faint—the slightest gale 
Might whirl the leaves on high; 
And yet, though storms and blight assail, 
And hands more rude than wintry sky 
May wring it from the stem—in vain — 
To-morrow sees it bloom again ! ” 
There is something peculiarly attractive in white 
flowers; they seem to embody the very idea of purity 
and innocence. Among them the rose is pre-eminent 
in loveliness, and whilst gazing on its opening blossoms 
-“ of purest virgin-white, 
Low-bent and blushing inward,” 
one feels disposed to give it the meed of beauty before 
all other flowers, and to address it with the lavish 
