FLATTERY. 
107 
the tops of their cottages. When these beau¬ 
tiful flowers are agitated by the breeze, and 
the sun gilds their petals, tinting them with 
hues of gold, purple, and azure, they have the 
appearance of light and perfumed flames, 
glistening over the rustic dwellings. This 
appearance has gained the flower the name 
of “ Flaming Iris.” 
FLATTERY. 
VENUS’ LOOKING-GLASS. 
As soon as the sun sheds its golden light 
upon our corn fields, we see shining in the 
midst, the bright purple corollas of the starry 
flowers of this pretty species of campanula, 
which, from its resemblance to a mirror, has 
been named Venus’ looking-glass. If the 
sun’s rays be intercepted by clouds, these 
beautiful flowers immediately close, as at the 
approach of night. There is an ancient fable 
which tells us that Venus accidentally let one 
of her mirrors fall on the earth. A shepherd 
found it, and casting his eyes upon the glass, 
which had the power of adorning the object 
it reflected, he forgot his mistress, and had 
no other wish than to admire himself. Love, 
who feared the consequences of so foolish an 
error, broke the glass, and transformed the 
remains into this pretty plant. 
