Page:The Romance of Nature; or, The Flower-Seasons Illustrated.djvu/277

175 In graceful chaplets round

The Lovers as they walked;

And with soft glances more than words,

They eloquently talked.

The Knight had dwelt in southern climes

Beneath a warmer sun,

And learned the language of the Flowers,

And fancies many a one

That Poet-Lovers gave

To herb, and leaf, and flower,

That they might Love's ambassadors

Be in the fair-one's bower.

Without a line of written vows

Fond hearts were oft-times plighted;

And flowers, too, could tell whene'er

A proffered suit was slighted.

The Heartsease promised "perfect love;"

Hope in the Hawthorn lay;

Despair and death with hemlock dwelt,

And glory claimed the Bay.—

And so to all the garden's hues

Some fair conceit was given,

By which young Cupid's bonds might be

Locked closer still, or riven.