INTRODUCTION. 1X 
yet some will necessarily be found arbitrary ; and if 
some of the symbols vary from previous authority, it 
must be remembered that this objection occurs only 
in oral language, the same word having a totally dif- 
ferent signification in different countries. 
The following complete Vocabulary of flowers 
will enable our readers to compose wreaths or bou 
quets to convey their sentiments and wishes as thus 
prettily expressed by the poct :-— 
“I dare not whisper what I feel for thee, 
But I will let the flowers, upon whose leaves 
Hath love its language written, plead my suit; 
Then listen, lovely lady. First, IT send 
The rose of hundred leaves, ambassador. 
The amaryllis next—an emblem bright 
And beauteous, of thyself ; interpreter 
Of my own thoughts, the cedar-leaf ; then for thee 
The pure white lily, for myself the pink, 
Red as the sky at sunset ; mignonette 
For thee, for me the hay-leaf; the green fern 
For thee, the oak-geranium for myself ; 
The hare-bel! next, another emblem sweet 
Of thee, the currant for myself; again, 
The Austrian rose that breathes of thee such truth, 
The jonquil whispering timidly for me. 
The silver daisy and the jasmine wreathed, 
Emblems again of thee : and for myself, 
When the swift hours are warning me to leave, 
I send the thyme to whisper thee the case 5 
The orange blossom next, more truth of thee, 
With the rich multiflora rose to crown the wreath. 
Then, oh then, cluster’d with my hopes and fears, 
Warm from repeated pressures to my heart, 
And trembling with its beatings, close entwined 
IT give the myrtle’s green and polish’d leaves 
With the rose-hued chrysanthemum. With pride 
I place thy wreath upon thy radiant brow, 
‘And mine with the red tulip in its midst, 
I lay in deepest reverence at thy feet.” 
Tn addition to the emblems of the various flowers, 
it may be necessary to give a few rules as to the 

