THE FLORAL GIFT. 
91 
% 
MYRTLE. 
Myrtus Communis ,—Class 12, Order 1. 
Favorite shrubs of parlor cultivation, with large white 
blossoms. —South of Europe. 
LOVE IN ABSENCE. 
I see thee still—though far away, 
From my young vision now, 
I gaze upon thine eyes’ sweet ray, 
Thy fair and lofty brow : 
I hear thy voice of melting power, 
Those tones of holy thrill; 
In fancies of the midnight hour, 
I dream I see thee still! 
I know how sadly vain it is, 
To cherish thoughts like these ; 
Yet lone hearts sometimes dream of bliss, 
’Mid all their miseries. 
And in my lonely hours, alas! 
When deepest woes are mine, 
Strange flitting thoughts will often pass, 
And point to smiles of thine ! 
S. E. Southerland. 
