INTRODUCTION

OF FLOWERS, so much has been said and sung, that it were impossible to write any thing new. They have been called "the joy of the shrubs which bear them;"-" the stars of the earth;" and the "alphabet of the angels ;" and, indeed, as says Mr. Howitt, "of all the minor creations of God, they seem to be most completely the effusions of his love of beauty, grace, and joy. Beauty and fragrance are poured abroad over the earth in blossoms of endless varieties, radiant evidences of the boundless benevolence of the Deity. They are made solely to gladden the heart of man, for a light to his eyes, for a living inspiration of grace to his spirit, for a perpetual admiration. And accordingly they seize on our affections the first moment that we behold them. With what eagerness do very infants grasp at flowers! As they become older, they would live for ever among them. They bound about in the flowery meadows like young fawns; they gather all they come near; they collect heaps; they sit among them and sort them, and sing over them and caress them, till they perish in their grasp.

This sweet May morning

The children are pulling

On every side,

In a thousand valleys far and wide,

Fresh flowers.

WORDSWORTH.

"We see them coming wearily into the towns and villages with their pin-a-fores full, and with posies half as large as themselves. We trace them in shady lanes, in the grass of far-off fields, by the treasures they have gathered and have left behind, lured on by others still greater.

"As they grow up to maturity, they assume, in their eyes, new characters and beauties. Then they are strewn around them, the poetry of the earth. They become invested, by a multitude of associations, with innumerable spells of power over the human heart; they are to us memorials of the joys, sorrows, hopes, and triumphs of our forefathers; they are, to all nations, the emblems of youth in its loveliness and purity."

Flowers to the Fair! to you these flowers I bring,

And strive to greet you with an earlier spring;
Flowers sweet and gay, and delicate like you,
Emblems of innocence and beauty too.
With flowers the Graces bind their yellow hair,
And flowery wreaths consenting lovers wear.
Flowers, the sole luxury which Nature knew,
In Eden's pure and guiltless garden grew.

MRS. BARBAULD.

Let Fancy lead us, with her fair imaginings, and it shall te in pleasant paths, and through flowery ways;

Go, cull the golden fruits of truth;

Go, gather fancy's brilliant flowers;

and for a brief space let us wander in an earthly Eden. We will rove, hand in hand, with the ever-youthful goddess of flowers; and Zephyrus, her beloved, shall waft tributary hon ours from every clime. We will twine fair garlands for many a youthful brow; we will not let a flower of the spring escape us;" but "crown ourselves with roses ere they be withered." We may roam with Tasso through Syrian lands,

"where soft perfumes diffuse from every flower;" or the deserts of Arabia, where

The acacia waves her yellow hair;

or shall we choose the Grecian Isles, and join there a brida train, "where the young maidens are crowned with fairest flowers? And there on every side are seen a succession of narcissuses, hyacinths, anemones, iris, all hues, violets of all sorts, roses of every kind, and every odoriferous plant." These the ancient Greeks scattered in the porticoes of their temples: with them they adorned their altars, and decorated the statues of their gods; they strewed them in the victor's path; and wore wreaths of flowers in their holy ceremonies.

It was the custom there to bring away

The bride from home at blushing shut of day,

Veiled in a chariot, heralded along

By strewn flowers, torches, and a marriage song.

KEATS.

And at their banquets and festivals they crowned themselves with

Garlands of every green, and every scent,

From vales deflowered or forest-trees branch-rent,
In baskets of bright osiered gold were brought,

High as the handles heaped, to suit the thought

Of every guest, that each as he did please

Might fancy-fit his brows, silk-pillowed at his ease.

KEATS.

If we pass to Italy, we shall find lilies, and violets, the narcissus, and flowers of the sweet smelling anise; with cassia, and other fragrant herbs, the soft hyacinth, and the saffron marigold. And in Spain we may

rest awhile in the bower,

O'er which the white-leaved orange flower
Breathes its ambrosial sweets.

MELENDEZ.

Now let us away to the distant lands of Asia, where we shall not find the glorious garden of Eden, nor the far-famed gardens of once mighty Babylon; but there we may repose on beds of roses in Cashmere; and with the Persian maidens weave garlands of the violet, jasmine, or lotus flowers; we may trim the odorous night-blooming nyctanthes, with the drooping mimosa, which seems to do us homage as we approach it; we may cull the rich blossom from the canna, the white arum, the yellow zanthium, and the classic hibiscus ; we may rest secure under the bata tree, or recline beneath the dark and gloomy cypresses. Or seeing, should we prefer the plain of various colours, clad with groves and gardens, and watered by flowing rivulets? It is a place belonging to the abodes of heroes. The ground is silky in its appearance, and the air is scented with musky odours; so that you would be led to ask, Is it rose-water which glides between the banks? The stalk of the lily bends under the weight of the flower; and the whole grove is charmed with the fragrance of the rosebud. The pheasant walks gracefully among the flowers; and the dove and the nightingale warble from the branches of the cypress. From the present time to the latest age, may these banks resemble the bowers of Paradise !*

In Hindostan, the god of love is known as Camdeo. There we may see the fair young child surrounded by gay laughterloving nymphs. His mother never leaves him- his spouse is Retty, the essence of affection-and his bosom friend is Bes

Sir William Jones.

sent, or Spring. The plains of Agra are his favourite resort. His bow is of sugar-cane, twined with flowers; his string is of bees; his five arrows are each pointed with an Indian flower. The Hindoo nymphs chant the following hymn to the Indian cupid :

God of the flowery shafts and flowery bow,
Delight of all above and all below!

Thy loved companion, constant from his birth,
Is ycleped Bessent, gay spring on earth,
Weaves thy green robes and flaunting bowers,
And from thy cloud draws balmy showers,
He with fresh arrows fills thy quiver,
(Sweet the gift, and sweet the giver,)
And bids the many-plumed warbling throng
Burst the fresh blossoms with their song:

He bends the luscious cane, and twists the string
With bees - how sweet, but ah! how keen their sting,
He with five flowerets tips thy ruthless darts,

Which through five senses pierce enraptured hearts."

Translation by SIR WILLIAM JONES.

But we will leave this dangerous land, and wander through the ever-blooming vales of Japan. Let us deck ourselves with her gorgeous lilies-her Japonicas-her flowers so beautiful that even the females are named from them. Wherever we roam, we shall find that nature strews the earth with flowers.

We proceed to take a brief survey of the habits of flowers. Many varieties open their flowers in the morning, and close them in the evening; yet all do not open or close at the same hour. Plants of the same species are pretty regular to an hour in equal temperatures: hence the daily opening and shutting of the flowers has been called Horologium Flora.

It has been very truly observed that flowers were the first playthings of Linnæus: whose motto was,

Tantus amor florum.