If hopes and fervent wishes could Controul futurity's dark veil, There's not a plant or flower but should You should, like roses, charm the view; As the bright flower, which fables say But should misfortune dim your road, And as through sunshine you may go, R. PATTERSON. SPRING AND SUMMER FLOWERS. WHEN every leaf is brightly green, When every stem hath sweetest flowers, And brilliant hues bedeck the scene, Throughout the joyous summer hours; When sweetest perfumes scent the air, Say, with what feelings do we gaze Their beauty greeteth every eye, Their perfume floats on every breeze, But when the Snowdrop's fragile head, And when the breath of early spring Her beauty from the sheltering earth; It is with exquisite delight We hail these unassuming flowers, More dearly precious in our sight, Than all that deck our summer bowers. They are the prized, the cherished few, And first perchance in gloom appear. M. I find and I gather in country or town; But one is still wanting, Oh! where is it haunting? The bud and the jewel must make up my crown. The Rose with its bright heads, Rich as the sunbeam and pure as the snow; The other its radiance; But the pearl and the lily where dwell they below? 'Tis years since I knew thee, But yet should I view thee With the eye and the heart of my earliest youth; And feel thy meek beauty, Add impulse to duty, The love of the fancy to old ties of truth. Thou pearl of the deep sea, That flows in my heart free, Thou rock-planted lily come hither or send; 'Mid flowers of the fairest, And gems of the rarest, I miss thee, I seek thee, my own parted friend! M. J. JEWSBURY. LA BRANCHE D'AMANDIER. De l'amandier tige fleurie, Symbole, hélas! de la beauté, Fleurit et tombe avant l'été. Qu'on la néglige ou qu'on la cueille, Savourons ces courtes délices; De ces parfums qui vont mourir. Souvent la beauté fugitive Ressemble à la fleur du matin, Qui du front glacé du convive, Tombe avant l'heure du festin. Un jour tombe, un autre se lève; Nous dit: Hâtez-vous d'en jouir. Et puisqu'il faut qu'elles périssent, DE LAMARTINE. |