THE POETRY OF FLOWERS. 129 
With rich abundance, throws its slender stems 
In beautiful festoons, while its flowers shed 
Their fragrant sweets upon the evening air. 
No blooming shrub’s more plentiful or fair, 
Than Woodbine wild among thy floral gems. 
Wordsworth thus writes of Emily in his poem, “ The 
White Doe of Rylstone— 
Ere she hath reached yon rustic shed, 
Hung with late-flowering Woodbine, spread 
Along the walls and overhead, 
The fragrance of the breathing flowers 
Revives a memory of those hours 
When here, in this remote alcove, 
A fondly anxious mother strove 
To teach her salutary fears 
And mysteries above her years. 
THE HORSE-CHESTNUT.— Luxury. 
Howitt, expatiating on the gorgeous beauty of its 
foliage, says :— 
For in its honour prodigal nature weaves 
A princely vestment, and profusely showers 
0 er its green masses of broad palmy leaves. 
Ten thousand waxen pyramidal flowers ; 
And gay and gracefully its head it heaves 
Into the air, and monarch-like it towers. 
THE HYACINTH.— Game. Play. 
Milton thus records the incident of Apollo and 
Hyacinthus being engaged in a game of quoits 
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