PINK. 41 



France with the Pink, and to this day it remains 

 a favourite flower in the neighbourhood of Tou- 

 louse, although it is much less frequent in the 

 vicinity of Paris than formerly. 



It is a flower that has attracted the particular 

 notice of Princes. The Great Conde, whilst 

 prisoner in the Bastile, amused himself in the 

 cultivation of Pinks, which induced Madame de 

 Scuderi to make the following verses on the sub- 

 ject— 



" En voyant cos ceillets, qu'im illustre guerricr 

 Cultive d'une main qui g"ag"na des batailles, 

 Souviens-toi qu' Apollon a bati des murailles, 

 Et ne t'etonne plus que JNIars soit jardinier." 



We have connected with the Pink an anecdote, 

 which shows how far the mind may be led away 

 and debased by the arts of flattery. 



The young Duke of Burgundy, grandson of 

 Louis the Fifteenth, being fond of cultivating 

 these flowers, a flatterer persuaded him, by sub- 

 stituting other pots of Pinks for those of the 

 Prince, that the Pinks which he planted, came 

 and flourished in one night. Thus persuaded, 

 the youthful Prince believed that nature obeyed 

 his will. One night, not being able to sleep, he 

 expressed a wish to get up, but was told that it 



