74 DROPS FROM FLORA’S CDr. 
'T is oft the harbinger of woe, as suffering is to 
rest; 
Here beauty is the sure but smiling herald of 
decay, 
As oftentimes the darkest night succeeds the 
brightest day. 
To a White Chrysanthemum. 
MRS. DENKIES. 
Fair gift of friendship ! and her ever bright 
And faultless image 1 welcome now thou art, 
In thy pure loveliness, thy robes of white, 
Speaking a moral to the feeling heart; 
Unscathed by heats — by wintry blasts unmoved,— 
Thy strength thus tested, and thy charm improved. 
Emblem of innocence, which fearless bi'aves 
Life’s dreariest scenes, its rudest storm derides, 
And floats calmly on o’er troubled waves, 
As where the peaceful streamlet smoothly glides; 
Thou ’rt blooming now, as beautiful and clear 
As other blossoms do when springes here. 
Symbol of hope, still banishing the gloom 
Hung o’er the mind by stern December's reign! 
Thou cheer’st the fancy by the steady bloom, 
With thoughts of summer and the fertile plain; 
Calling a thousand visions into play, 
Of beauty redolent, and bright as May. 
