362 



FLOWERS AND THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. 



" Political opinions !" replied he, with 

 an almost ferocious air, "I have none ! I 

 never had any ! I never shall have any ! 

 What is the use of politics ? To overturn 

 gardens ! Have they not already contem- 

 plated the proscription of the Lily, the Vio- 

 let, the Pink? Formerly, the Red and 

 White Roses agitated England, I know ; 

 I have heard so ; but is that any reason for 

 persecuting those existing now, — the roses 

 of the nineteenth century ? What, to me, 

 are all these foolish and miserable quarrels 

 of systems and governments ? Let them 

 leave us alone — my flowers and myself ! 

 But let them also leave me my flowers 

 with their luimes ! I would sooner change 

 my own name than to be obliged to un- 

 baptize them ! The authorities, however, 

 will have it so ! They have might on their 

 side ! There will be a law to that efl^ect, 

 you will see ! It is easy enough to make 

 a law. It is not so easy to make cata- 

 logues, however ! But revolutions respect 

 nothing !" 



I tried to quiet him. " My good neigh- 

 bor," said I, " well, let us see, when it be- 

 comes necessary, to change some of your 

 labels, — will that be so great a misfortune ?" 



" How," said he, " some, all sir, or al- 

 most all ? It is a slight thing to attack one 

 family. Have they not overturned royalty 

 itself ? Just look at this collection of Roses, 

 almost all regal, and consequently pro- 

 scribed. Here is la Reine des Cent feuilles, 

 la Reine des perpetuelles, la Reine de la 

 Guillotine, la Rose Royale, le Caruim Roy ale, 

 la Rose du Roi, Vlmperatrice de France ! 

 There is no escaping it ! But it was not 

 enough to attack a single family, and roy- 

 alty itself! Your innovators also have sup- 

 pressed the nobility ! and how many of our 

 Roses are either countesses or baronesses ? 

 Even marchionesses ! La Comtesse Duchd- 

 tel, la Comtesse Lacipcde, la Marquise Tur- 



got, la Barronne Carruel, la Barronne Du- 

 puytren ! and as many more ! But do you 

 think, sir, that the proscription will stop 

 here ? No, no, do not deceive yourself. 

 Napoleon himself will not escape. Napo- 

 leon le Gra?id! — a magnificent Fuchsia. 

 Among the Fritillaires, have we not la 

 Couronne Jinperiale ; among the Narcissus, 

 le Grand MoJiarque ; and the Tulips, Mon- 

 sieur, the Tulips ! almost all belong to the 

 nobility, and are titled personages, — to be- 

 gin with the Due de Thol. I repeat to 

 you, it is re-creating a whole world ! and 

 who will charge themselves with it ? Not 

 I ! I tell you, your representatives of the 

 people would do better to suppress, at one 

 blow, all the flowers ! And they call that 

 a constitutional assembly ! " But let them 

 beware," added he, with a voice full of 

 vehemence ; " plants have their rights also ! 

 Those who love them and cultivate them, 

 have done more for humanity than all your 

 legislators — past and present. That man 

 who first cultivated a grain of corn, en- 

 dowed the world with an inexhaustible 

 treasure. Tea, coffee, sugar-cane, — have 

 they not made the fortune of several conti- 

 nents ? For the sake of those plants which 

 have created so much wealth, let them re- 

 spect those which only bestow happiness ! 

 They are all connected together. Besides, 

 how do you know that the most humble 

 will not, some day, become the most useful ? 

 The Monarde Rouge, (sweet balm,) at first 

 gathered as a simple ornamental flower, 

 was once very near disputing the ground 

 with Tea itself, and disinheriting China to 

 the advantage of Pennsylvania, its native 

 land. Perhaps the roots of the Dahlia, now 

 become edible, will replace, advantageous- 

 ly, those of the Potato, which is dying out 

 and disappearing — like all the kings ! 

 But to attack their nomenclature, is to un- 

 dermine science, and to stab to the heart 



