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THE POETRY OF FLOWERS. 
THE SUNFLOWER.— False Riches. 
Longfellow gives the following poetical narrative 
apropos of this flower:— 
As in at the gate we rode, behold, 
A tower that was called the Tower of Gold ! 
For there the Kalif had hidden his wealth, 
Heaped and hoarded and piled on high, 
Like sacks of wheat in a granary; 
And thither the miser crept by stealth 
To feel of the gold that gave him health, 
And to gaze and to gloat with his hungry eye 
On the jewels that gleamed like a glow-worm’s spark, 
Or the eyes of a panther in the dark. 
I said to the Kalif: “ Thon art old, 
Thon hast no need of so much gold. 
Thou should’st not have heaped and hidden it here, 
Till the breath of battle was hot and near, 
But have sown through the land these useless hoards. 
To spring into shining blades of swords, 
And keep thine honour sweet and clear. 
These grains of gold are not grains of wheat, 
These bars of silver thou canst not eat. 
SWEET-SCENTED VIOLET.— Modesty. 
Where the banks are wet with drops of morning dew, 
The gentle Violet steals out, in hood of blue. 
Taylor. 
Byron adverting to its rich purple, speaks of— 
The sweetness of the Violet’s deep blue eyes 
Kissed by the breath of heaven, seem coloured by the 
skies. 
