TIIR LANGUAGE OF FLO JEERS. 
21 
in our own pastoral England. It gives pleasure to me 
to know that we arc neither indebted to Turks nor 
turbans for the origin of this splendid flower, which 
was, no doubt, more plentiful in the days of our old 
Elizabethan poets, and which is mentioned in Ben 
Jonson’s ‘ Pan’s Anniversary ’ by the very name it 
still bears.” In the East, when a young man presents 
one to his mistress, it signifies, by its general color, 
that he is on fire with her beauty, and by its black 
centre, that his heart is burned to a coal. The Turks 
almost idolize this flower; and every year, in the 
seraglio of the Sultan, the Feast of Tulips is celebrat¬ 
ed with the utmost splendor. In Europe, also, tulips 
have had their adorers. Between the years 1644 and 
1647, tulips rose to incredible prices in Holland, and 
enriched many speculators. Those who, for want of 
ready money, could not engage in this trade, exchanged 
houses and lands for bulbs. One variety, the Viceroy, 
is said to have been sold as high as ten thousand dol¬ 
lars ! This extraordinary traffic was at last checked 
by a law that no tulip, or other flower, should be sold 
for a sum exceeding one hundred and seventy-five 
dollars. 
BUCKBEAN (Menyanthes trifoliata) . Calmness, repose. 
Along that lake whose silvery waters reflect a cloud¬ 
less sky, do you see those clusters, as white as snow ? 
A light pink just tinges the reverse of these lovely 
