Page:The Romance of Nature; or, The Flower-Seasons Illustrated.djvu/244

146 And since thou canst by more than one,

Thou'rt worthy to be kissed by none.

The morning Rose, that untouched stands,

Armed with her briars, how sweetly smells!

But plucked and strained thro' ruder hands

Her sweet no longer with her dwells.

Her scent and beauty both are gone,

And leaves fell from her one by one.

Such fate, ere long, will thee betide,

When thou hast handled been awhile!

Like sere flowers to be thrown aside,

And I shall sigh, and some will smile

To see thy love to every one

Hath brought thee to be loved by none!

The pretty single Rose, from which my illustrative drawing was made, was more nearly free from thorns than any I have yet seen: indeed I could not find any of the "sharp spines" on its smooth stem, but I will not offend the manes of the moral and amatory Bards of old, by asserting the entire absence of Beauty's attendant evils.

Next follows, in this our humble portrait gallery of Flora's fair children, the pure ; one among the chosen plants in Milton's bower of Eden.