


























198 MODESTY. 
For though the rose has more perfuming power 
The violet (haply ’cause ’tis almost lost, 
And takes us so much trouble to discover, ) 
Stands first with most, but always with a lover. 
It is interesting to notice how widely the 
violet is distributed over this blooming world. 
They spring at the foot of the Alps, and bloom 
on the very summit of the Alleghanies ;—their 
sweets are borne upon the spicy gales of Araby 
the blest; and they put forth their cerulean 
flowers in the Persian gardens of roses. Hum- 
boldt gathered them in the valleys of the 
Amazon, and on the sides of the lofty Andes. 
The most lovely flowers are the most simple, 
and plainly the favourites of nature, for they 
are the most widely diffused. 
It was a thought, as delicate as it was beau- 
tiful, which suggested the modest violet as a 
poetical reward. A golden violet was announced 
as the prize to be decreed to the author of the 
best poem in the Provencal language, in 1324. 
And in that golden vase was set 
The prize—the golden violet. 
THE TROUBADOUR. 























