Two Roses.

I've a friend beyond the ocean         So regardful, so sincere,     And he sends me in a letter         Such a pretty souvenir.     It is crushed to death and withered,         Out of shape and very flat,     But its pure, delicious odor         Is the richer for all that.     'Tis a rose from Honolulu,         And it bears the tropic brand,     Sandwiched in this friendly missive         From that far-off flower-land.     It shall mingle pot--pourri         With the scents I love and keep;     Some of them so very precious         That remembrance makes me weep.     While I dream I hear the music         That of happiness foretells,     Like the flourishing of trumpets         And the sound of marriage bells.     There's a rose upon the prairie,         Chosen his by happy fate,     He shall gather when he cometh         Sailing through the Golden Gate.     Mine, a public posy, growing         Somewhere by the garden wall,     Might have gone to any stranger,         May have been admired by all.     But the rose in beauty blushing,         Tenderly and sweetly grown     In the home and its affections,         Blooms for him, and him alone.     Speed the voyager returning;         His shall be a welcome warm,     With the Rose of Minnesota         Gently resting on his arm.     Love embraces in his kingdom         Earth and sea and sky and air.     Hail, Columbia! hail, Hawaii!         It is Heaven everywhere.