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The blushing Rose,

The nightingale's young and gentle bride,

Her delicate leaves begun to unclose,

And spread to the sunshine her grace and pride;
And then she spoke

In tones that like audible perfume broke
On the wingless air-and each other flower
Bent in listening mood on her slender stalk,
To hear the Rose and the Fairy talk.

THE ROSE.

"Beautiful spirit!—what grief is thine? Why doth thine eye

With less love and joy on thy children shine?
Why doth thy sigh

Bid each petaled bosom to heave with fear?
What raiseth our Fairy's anger here?

Do we not ever rejoice to greet
Thy guardian love

With tributes of homage? Beneath thy feet,

O'er lawn and grove,

Do we not lift up our heads to bless
Our Fairy's fond care and loveliness?

How have thy children displeased thee?
Loved Fairy, tell:

Oh! look now around thee, Fairy, see
Each bud and bell,

And star-like blossom, and trembling leaf,

Awaits thy wishes in fear and grief.

Has the Jasmine's perfume become less sweet?
Or the Woodbine frail

Too eagerly flung her arms to greet
The Summer gale?

Or has the Ceris-flower not blown?

Sweet guardian, why is thine anger shown?"

Then the Fairy besought the flowers to clear
From their glistening petals each dewy tear;
And unfold on the breeze each pencilled leaf,
For they had not the power to ease her grief:
And she told them how long she had dwelt away
From her home-land, where sprite, and elf, and fay,
Were her frolic-mates-and where sky and air

Were brighter than ever earth's flow'rets were:

And she told them that much as she loved each face, Blooming around her in light and grace,

Sometimes a sigh

Would rise in her breast, a tear to her eye,

As she thought on sweet Fairy-land's glittering sky; For though the hue,

To earthly view,

Of many a bud seemed soft and blue,

There was not one

Which recalled to her eye the exquisite shade

Of which Fairy-land's radiant heaven was made.

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When this plaint had gone

Wafting along o'er leaf and stem,

Full many a flower

Who deemed her own beauty a peerless gem,
Began to lour,

And sulkily shut up her leaves an hour
Before the sun

Had gone to his rest in his western bower.

One sly little bud resolved to see

What the tint of this elfin heaven might be;
And when the Fay

Spread her gossamer wings, to fly away

For a transient glimpse of her home so bright, There clung to her foot a seedling light

Of the Commeline-flower-and up they go

(While marvelled the Fairy what pinched her so) Aloft, aloft!

On pinions soft,

The Fairy flew onward with strengthening speed; And, taking heed

To be mute, and still, and watchful, too,

Went on the adventurous Commeline-seed.

And when over them, clear, and bright, and high,
Rose the dazzling canopied fairy sky,
No longer wondered young Commeline
That the azure of earth as dim was seen
By their gentle and guardian elfin queen;

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