From A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas père by Frank Wild Reed: Seven lines, rhyming a, b, a, b, c, c, b.
On visiting the Alhambra, Dumas plucked a tropical flower, wrapped it in paper, and upon this, paper wrote the verse, purporting to be spoken by the flower itself. Flower and message he then sent to the lady to whom he dedicated and addressed the letters which compose "De Paris à Cadix." In this work the lines occur in Chapter XIX., prefixed by these words: "Je n'ai pas pu y résister, j'en ai cueilli une, je l'ai enveloppée d'un papier, et sur ce papier, que j'ai mis à l'adresse de quelqu'un de votre connaissance, j'ai écrit au crayon, et comme si c'était la fleur qui parlât." ("I have been unable to resist ; I plucked one (a flower) ; I wrapped it in paper, and upon that paper, sent to the address of someone you know, I have written in pencil, and as though it was the flower which spoke.")
The seven lines in question, dated Granada, 27th of October, were inserted in the Album of Eugène Giraud. (See "Le Temps" for 1892.)
According to Monsieur le Vicomte Spoelberch de Lovenjoul, an article by Hippolyte Lucas, in the "Journal des Femmes" for the 5th of November. 1850 (page 18), contains the lines in question. They were addressed to Augustine Brohan, born on the 2nd of December, 1824, and then in her twenty-second year. The vicomte goes on to state that he believes Dumas' letters ("De Paris à Cadix ") were destined for Suzanne Brohan, mother of Augustine.
