























112 LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. 
account of the origin of the armour by which dat vhen 
this flower is defended : ; 

Young Love, rambling through the wood, 
Found me in my solitude, ! 
Bright with dew and freshly blown, ‘tp me 
And trembling to the Zephyr’s sighs ; tas : 
But, as he stooped to gaze upon “es 
The living gem with raptured eyes, 
It chanced a bee was busy there, 
Searching for its fragrant fare ; Att ee 
And, Cupid, stooping too, to sip, Be 
The angry insect stung his lip; ie 
And, gushing from the ambrosial cell, y 
One bright drop on my bosom fell. re 









Weeping, to his mother he 
Told the tale of treachery, 
And she, her vengeful boy. to please, 
Strung his bow with captive bees, tye 
But placed upon my slender stem 
The poisoned stings she plucked from them : 
And none since that eventful morn tek aad 
Have found the flower without a thorn bythe fee 


By the ancients the Rose was regarded as 
the emblem of joy. Accordingly, Comus, the 
god of feasting, was represented as a handsome 
young man, crowned with a garland of Roses, 
whose leaves glistened with dew-drops. As it 




