74 FLORAL POERSY, 

White bud ; thou’rt emblem of a lovelier thing,— 
The broken spirit that its anguish bears 
To silent shades, and there sits offering 
Lo Heaven, the holy fragrance of its tears. 

THE LILY. 
PERCIVAL. 
I HAD found out a sweet green spot 
Where a lily was blooming fair ; 
The din of the city disturbed it not ; 
But the spirit that shades the quiet cot 
With its wings of love was there. 
I found that lily’s bloom 
When the day was dark and chill: 
Tt smiled like a star in a misty gloom, 
And it sent abroad a sweet perfume, 
Which is floating around me still. 
I sat by the lily’s bell, 
And watched it many a day :— 
The leaves that rose in a flowing swell, 
Grew faint and dim, then drooped and fell, 
And the flower had flown away. 
I looked where the leaves were laid, 
In withering paleness, by ; 
And as gloomy thoughts stole on me, said, 
There’s many a sweet and blooming maid 
Who will soon as dimly die. 

