Bin 
d day ' 
ey S, 
OF Ey 

s 
Sr 
— 
POETRY OF FLOWERS. 26) 
While, fostered on its rising stem, 
The bud became a purple gem. 
But soon, their summer splendour pass’d, 
They faded in the wind, 
Yet were those roses, to the last, 
The loveliest of their kind, 
Whose crimson leaves, in falling round, 
Adorned and sanctified the ground, 
When thus were all their honours shorn, 
The bud unfolding rose, 
And blushed and brightened as the morn 
From dawn to sunrise glows, 
Till o’er each parent’s drooping head 
The daughter’s crowning glory spread. 
My Friends ! in youth’s romantic prime, 
The golden age of man, 
Like these twin roses spend your time, 
Life’s little lessening span ; 
Then be your breast as free from cares, 
Your lrours as innocent as theirs, 
And in the infant bud that blows 
In your encircling arms, 
Mark the dear promise of a rose, 
The pledge of future charms, 
That o’er your withering hours shall shine 
Fair and more fair, as you decline ;— 


