105 
FIRST EMOTION OF LOVE. 
LILAC. 
The lilac, various in array, now white, 
Now sanguine, and her beauteous head now set 
With purple spikes pyramidal, as if 
Studious of ornament, yet unresolved 
Which hue she most approved, she chose them all. 
COWEER. 
The lilac is consecrated to the first emo¬ 
tion of love, because nothing is more delight¬ 
ful than the sensations it produces pn its first 
appearance on the return of spring. The 
freshness of its verdure, the pliancy of its 
tender branches, the abundance of its flowers, 
—their beauty, though brief and transient,— 
their delicate and varied colours ; — all their 
qualities summon up those sweet emotions 
which enrich beauty, and impart to youth a 
grace divine. Anacreon has beautifully ex¬ 
pressed this idea in the following lines : — 
Beauty’s rosy ray 
In flying blushes richly play; 
Blushes of that celestial flame 
Which lights the cheek of virgin shame. 
Albano was unable to blend, upon the pa¬ 
lette which love had confided to him, colours 
sufficiently soft and delicate to convey the 
