220 
LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
it is sometimes called Four o’clock Flower. But, 
when the weather is moderately cool and the sun 
obscured, these shy blossoms remain open the 
whole day. 
Phillips remarks that, however these timid 
flowers may appear in the presence of the god of 
day, they stand the blaze of the strongest artifl- 
cial light as cheerfully as other belles who de¬ 
light to shine at the same hour with this emblem 
of timidity. 
We cannot resist the temptation of quoting 
here an exquisite little poem by Mrs. Hemans, 
on “ Night-scented Flowers,” which originally 
appeared in the Forget Me Not. 
“ Call back your odours, lovely flowers, 
From the night-wind call them back; 
And fold your leaves till the laughing hours 
Come forth in the sunbeam’s track. 
“ The lark lies couched in the grassy nest, 
And the honey-bee is gone ; 
And all bright things are away to rest— 
Why watch ye here alone ?” 
“ Nay, let our shadowy beauty bloom, 
When the stars give quiet light; 
And let us offer our faint perfume 
On the silent shrine of night. 
