34

THE WINTER ROSE.

HAIL, and farewell, thou lovely guest!
I may not woo thy stay;

The hues that paint thy glowing vest,

Are fading fast away,

Like the returning tints that die

At evening on the western sky,
And melt in misty grey.

It was but now thy radiant smile
Broke through the season's gloom,
As bending I inhaled awhile

Thy breathing of perfume;

And traced on every silken leaf,
A tale of summer, sweet and brief,
And sudden as thy doom.

The morning sun thy petals hail'd,
New from their mossy cell;
At eve his beam, in sorrow veil'd,
Bade thee a last farewell.
To-morrow's ray shall mark the spot,
Where, loosen'd from their fairy knot,
Thy withering beauties fell.

ANON.

ON THE SAME.

ALAS! on thy forsaken stem
My heart shall long recline,
And mourn the transitory gem,
And make the story mine!

So on my joyless winter hour

Has oped some fair and fragrant flower,

With smile as soft as thine.

Like thee the vision came and went,
Like thee, it bloomed and fell;

In momentary pity sent,

Of fairy climes to tell :

So frail its form, so short its stay,
That nought the lingering heart could say,
But hail, and fare thee well!

ANON.

DAHLIA.

(Dahlia Georgina.)

THIS splendid plant was originally found by Baron Humboldt, in a sandy soil in Mexico, North America. Its height varies from three to six feet. The petals of the single flower are commonly eight, but the number is variable, and in the double flowers they are exceedingly numerous. This plant was first introduced into this country in 1804, and excited so much admiration from the splendour and variety of its colours, that, we are told, florists could scarcely satisfy the demand for them. For stateliness of appearance, and richness of colouring, this flower stands unrivalled; but for fragrance it must bend even to the modest lily of the valley, or the retiring violet; although Mr. Knight says, that at one particular period of the flower's opening it has a slight, but not a fragrant smell. The varieties are very numerous, and botanists are divided as to their species. This plant received its name of Dahlia, from Cavanilles, who dedicated it to Andrew Dahl, a Swedish Botanist; and that of Georgina from Willdenow, who named it after Dr. Georgi of Petersburg. Florists differ much in the