FOL CHILDREN. 4L

And, wreathed into loops of the tenderest green,

Antirrhinum waved loose to the zephyrs between.

The passion-flower {ond to the portico clung,

And guelder-rose glittered the foliage among 5

A mossy mosaic! the pavement displayed,

With tufts of hepatica richly inlaid ;

And high in the centre an altar was reared,

Which wreathen with net-work of flowers ap-
peared :

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 :—

1 Mosaic—an imitation of a painting, made with pebble
marbles, shells, or, as in the passage above, of moss of dif-
ferent colours.

E2