206 THE POETRY OF FLOWERS 
the jasmine-flower, appears like an emerald set in coral. It is 
sometimes so tame or fearless that it may be taken with the 
hand. This little being is the soul and the life of the plant 
that cherishes it. 
Oh! the pet and the darling of nature —whose plume, 
Through the woods, like a sunbeam, doth playfully dart — 
The humming-bird! bathing in dew and perfume, 
That hide in the crimson jasmine’s heart, 
While he blends, with the blossom, his own rich bloom, 
Till you hardly can tell them apart. 
f. s. o. 
SILENCE. 
WHITE ROSE. 
The god of silence was represented under the form of a 
young man, with one finger placed on his lips, and holding a 
white rose in the other hand. We are told that Love gave him 
this rose to secure his favour. The ancients sculptured a rose 
over the doors of their festive halls, to interdict the guests from 
repeating anything that was spoken. Byron has rendered it 
sacred to the silence of the tomb. In the “ Bride of Abydos,” 
he says, that, o’er the tomb of Zuleika — 
A single rose is shedding 
Its lovely lustre, meek and pale ; 
It looks as planted by despair — 
So white, so faint, the slightest gale 
Might whirl the leaves on high. 
