194 T HE P O E T RY OF FLOWE R S 
If her feelings, those buds of the heart, 
Are slow their soft petals to part — 
Too timid to brook 
The world’s cold look ; 
And dreading the slanderer’s dart; — 
When once they unfold in perfume, 
They glow like the warm golden bloom 
Which the maple-tree shows, 
When its blossoms unclose, 
Like light in the deep forest-gloom. 
f. s. o. 
RESOLVE THE RIDDLE. 
TREMELLA NOSTOC. 
THEtremella is a gelatinous plant, which has occupied much 
of the naturalist’s attention, but as yet it has baffled research. 
It was very celebrated among the alchymists of old, who used 
it in the preparation of the philosopher’s stone and universal 
panacea, considering it as a fallen star. It seems, however, to 
render research fruitless, by being continually found in various 
analogous forms, which again resume their previous appearance. 
They are generally found in the alleys of gardens, and in moist 
pasture; and sometimes, after a wet and rainy night, the 
earth in the thickets of the Tuileries has been observed to be 
entirely covered. A few hours after sunrise they entirely dis¬ 
appear. In short, we know nothing certain about this singular 
plant: it is a secret of nature which resists our most persever¬ 
ing inquiries. 
