The last (such as fairies are fancied to wear,)
Aurora1 herself had disposed in her hair.
To meet her and welcome the high-omened day,
The bridegroom stepped forth in majestic array-
A rough velvet suit, mingled russet and green,
Around his fine figure, broad flowing was seen;
His front, warm and manly, a diadem graced,
Of regal appearance, resplendent as chaste;
The centre was puckered in velvet of brown,
With golden vandykes, which encircled the crown.
Since nature's first morning, ne'er glittered a pair,
The one so commanding, the other so fair!
Many ladies of fashion had offered to wait
As bridemaids, the honour was reckoned so great;
These famed for their beauty, for fragrancy those,
ANEMONE splendid, or sweet-smelling Rose;
But gentle and free from a tincture of pride,
A sweet country cousin was called by the bride,
Who long in a valley had sheltered unknown,
Or was traced to the shade by her sweetness alone;
She timid appeared in the meekest array,
With pearls of clear dew on an evergreen spray.
Now moved the procession from dressing-roombowers,
A brilliant display of illustrious flowers:
Young HEART'S-EASE in purple and gold ran before,
To welcome them in at the great temple door;
Where old Bishop MONK'S-HOOD had taken his stand,
To weave and to sanction the conjugal band:
The trumpeter SUCKLING, with musical air,
Preceded as herald;-then came the young pair,
Aurora-the goddess of the morning-the dawn.
With little Miss LILY, as bridemaid behind,
Alone her fair head on her bosom reclined.
The old Duke of PEONY, richly arrayed
In coquelicot, headed the long cavalcade;
Duchess Dowager Rose leading up at his side,
With her daughters, some blooming, some fair as
the bride;
My Lady CARNATION, excessively dashing,
Rouged highly, and new in the Rotterdam fashion,2
Discoursing of rank and of pedigree, came
With a beau of distinction, Van TULIP by name;
Field-officer POPPY, in trim militaire;
An unfortunate youth, HYACINTHUS the fair;
With Major CONVOLVULUS, fresh from parade,
And his son, though a Minor, in purple cockade;
A pair from the country, affecting no show,
PRETTY BETSY the belle, and SWEET-WILLIAM the
beau,
Succeeded; and next, in the simplest attire,
Miss JESSAMINE pale, and her lover SWEET-BRIAR;
AURICULA came, in puce velvet and white,
With her spouse POLYANTHUS, a rich city knight; Messrs. STOCKS from 'Change Alley,3 in crimson array;
The twin-brother LARKSPURS, two fops of the day;
1 Coquelicot the red poppy-here used to describe the colour of the dress.
2 Rotterdam-The carnation and tulip are especially cultivated in Holland-hence the reference to Rotterdam, a town in that country, and to Van tulip, Van being a Dutch title of rank.
3 'Change Alley-for Exchange Alley, a passage near where the old Royal Exchange stood, much frequented by dealers in Stock, as money is sometimes called.
With light-hearted COLUMBINE, playing the fool,
And footing away, like a frolic from school;
Then a distant relation, 'twas said, of the bride,
WATER-LILY, a nymph from the rivulet's side,
And last, hand-in-hand, at the end of the train,
VIOLETTA and DAISY, from Hazel-nut lane.
MEZEREON had fully designed to be there,
But was only half dressed, and obliged to forbear;1
And the EVENING PRIMROSE was pale with chagrin
That her cap did not come till the day had closed in.
So each remained pouting behind in the shade,
As winding along moved the brilliant parade.
At length the fair temple appeared to their view,
All blushing with beauty and spangled with dew:
Tall hollyhock pillars encircled it round,
With tendrils of pea and sweet eglantine2 bound;
The roof was a trellis3 of myrtle and vine,
Which knots and festoons of nasturtium combine:
Surmounting each pillar, the cornice displayed
The midsummer star-wort, relieving the shade;
And, wreathed into loops of the tenderest green,
Antirrhinum waved loose to the zephyrs between.
The passion-flower fond to the portico clung,
And guelder-rose glittered the foliage among;
A mossy mosaic the pavement displayed,
With tufts of hepatica richly inlaid;
The flowers of the mezereon appear on the naked stem, before the leaves are unfolded.
Eglantine-the sweet-briar.
Trellis a lattice, or frame of cross-barred work of wood,
4 Mosaic-an imitation of a painting, made with pebbles, marbles, shells, or, as in the passage above, of moss of different colours.
And high in the centre an altar was reared,
Which wreathen with net-work of flowers appeared:
Where sunbeams, by dews in the trellis condensed,
From herbs aromatic sweet odours dispensed:
Above were suspended the merry blue-bells,
Holy rites to enliven with musical swells.
And now the train enters, the altar burns bright,
Fresh fragrance escapes from the centrical light;
Before the green shrine, the young couple await
Each form ceremonious ordained by the state;
And mystical vows understood but by flowers,
Which elude observation of senses like ours.
'Twas only perceived that the Bishop profound
Clear dews from his urn sprinkled thrice on the
ground;
And Zephyr, or some such invisible thing,
Thrice fluttered the air with his butterfly wing.
At length the rites closed in a grand benediction,
And merriment burst without any restriction.
Now blushed in the banquet along the parterre,
Each dainty that nature or art could prepare :-
DAMASK ROSE on the lawn had a table-cloth spread,
The FLESH PLANT provided the dish at the head,
And CORNBOTTLE furnished the table with bread.
Housewife BUTTERCUP sent a supply from her churn;
The SNOWDROP iced dews in a white Crocus urn;
And CANDY TUFT, skilled in the art of preserving,
A splendid dessert had the honour of serving.
ROSE BURGUNDY, vintner, the goblet supplied
With neat foreign wines, and made2 cowslip be-
side;
2 Made-that is, home made,
Campanula cups, filled with gentle spring rain, Were served to the ladies who wished for it plain; And all was so elegant, splendid, and rare,
That I could not name half the fine things that were there.
When finished, SNAP-DRAGONS produced a good joke,
And ROCKETS went up to amuse the young folk.
In return for past favours, a band of young bees
Hummed a midsummer tune through the neigh-
bouring trees;
And linnet and lark, as by accident, met
And surprised the young pair with a charming duet.
And now mirth and revelry were at their height,
The little ones crept to the shade in affright;
The ladies had danced in the heat of the sun,
Till their dresses were limp and their spirits outdone;
And Flora, who witnessed the scene with concern,
Beckoned forward to Vesper1 to empty her urn.
At once, as by magic, the merriment died,
Not a whisper was heard, not a gambol was tried!
Returned to their stations in border or bed,
Each shut up his eye, or hung graceful her head;
And those who had left foreign mountains and vales,
Rode home in snug parties, on zephyrs and gales;
So that ere the first star wandered out with a beam,
They were all sound asleep, and beginning to dream!
Ann Taylor.
JOHN BARLEYCORN.
THERE went three kings into the east,
Three kings both great and high,
1 Vesper the evening star-evening itself.
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