144 
FUNERAL FLOWERS. 
And the pine boughs o’ershadow thee with gloom 
Which of the grove seems breathing—not the tomb. 
Hemans. 
Let us now turn to the Romans, who imitated, 
and even went beyond the people last alluded 
to, in most of their luxuries and refinements ; 
we have already had occasion to show how 
lavish these were of flowers in their festivals 
and religious rites ; we will now speak of those 
which relate to the memory and sepulture of 
the dead. Owen has thus translated an apos¬ 
trophe from the Latin :— 
“May gentlest earth our fathers’ shades enclose, 
Light be their turf, and peaceful their repose; 
Forth, from their urns, the breathing crocus fling, 
The balmy sweets of an eternal spring ! 
Who willed that to the tutor should be showed 
The filial reverence to a parent owed.” 
And Dryden has given us, in the following 
words, a noble version of that portion of An- 
chises’ speech to his son, in which he alludes 
to bestrewing the funeral pile of Marcellus 
with flowers :— 
“Full canisters of fragrant lilies bring, 
Mixed with the purple roses of the spring; 
