14 JULY 1877, Page 16

TO THE AUTHOR OF "BLUE ROSES."

ALL the world in flower,

Lies about me now, Light on every bower, Bloom on every bough ; But where are the roses In my dreams that grew ? Rose that never closes, - Rose whose shade is blue.

Once, I thought I found them, In the days gone by-- Buds grew all around them, Bluer than the sky ; .Still, whene'er I touched them, Blue was turned to grey, • For it seemed I clutched them Only to decay.

• Ah blue roses, never Here can be your birth—

Sin and grief together, Dismal make our earth ; But the mist discloses Azure peeping through, And may be, my roses Are where all is blue I