4 
INTRODUCTION. 
earthly Eden. We will rove, hand in hand, 
with the ever-youthful goddess of flowers; 
and Zephyrus, her beloved, shall waft tri¬ 
butary honours from every clime. We will 
twine fair garlands for many a youthful 
brow; “ we will not let a flower of the spring 
escape us ; ” but “ crown ourselves with 
roses ere they be withered.” We may roam 
with Tasso through Syrian lands, “where 
soft perfumes diffuse from every flower; ” 
or the deserts of Arabia, where 
The acacia waves her yellow hair; 
or shall we choose the Grecian Isles, and 
join there a bridal train, “ where the young 
maidens are crowned with fairest flowers? 
And there on every side are seen a succes¬ 
sion of narcissuses, hyacinths, anemones, 
iris all hues, violets of all sorts, roses of 
every kind, and every odoriferous plant.” 
These the ancient Greeks scattered in the 
porticoes of their temples; with them they 
adorned their altars, and decorated the sta¬ 
tues of their gods ; they strewed them in 
the victor’s path; and wore wreaths of flowers 
in their holy ceremonies. 
