[Illustration]
Flora was unknown among the Greeks, having her birth with the Romans. She
was the Goddess of Flowers,
--------------------------------"which unveil
Their breasts of beauty, and each delicate bud
O' the Season, comes in turn to bloom and perish.
But first of all the Violet, with an eye
Blue as the midnight heavens, the frail snow-drop,
Born of the breath of winter, and on his brow,
Fixed like a pale and solitary star,
The languid hyacinth, and wild primrose,
And daisy, trodden down like modesty,
The fox-glove, in whose drooping-bells the bee
Makes her sweet music: the Narcissus, named
From him who died for love, the tangled woodbine
Lilacs and flowering limes, and scented thorns,
And some from whom the voluptuous winds of June
Catch their perfumery."