THE ROM AUNT OF THE ROSE 35 



"I stand confessed." The banner 

 rose, streaked with red and white, 

 means war, in memory of the feuds of 

 Lancaster and York, and the long- 

 spiked Carolinian cries: "Dangerous 

 is love." The sprayed white bridal 

 rose says: "Happy love," and the 

 sensuous damask, mother of Eastern 

 attars, only echoes: "Love, I love." 

 But the eglantine, the rose of sorrow, 

 dropping its fragrant leaves like tears, 

 whispers: "I wound to heal." Those 

 who know only the winter florist's rose, 

 the growth of forcing steam, do not 

 know the poor man's rose, or the 

 lover's rose, the free gifts of the sun, 

 the air, and the dew, the marriage 

 token of the earth to June. 



Go into the garden now ; do not 

 delay! Roses are sweetest and keep 

 longest when picked with the dew on 

 them. Only yesterday the tulips were 



