4 THE BOOK OF THE ROSE chap. 



though both very fond of the sport, on more than one 

 occasion the partridges flew by unheeded whilst they 

 had strayed from their places. Said the host later on 

 to one of his friends, " What on earth do you think 

 A and B, who are generally so keen, had got of such 

 importance to talk about together ? It was all about 

 Roses ! " 



It has been my pleasure, for some months, to receive 

 very nearly every day by post as much and sometimes 

 more than a penny stamp would frank, of letters from 

 a gentleman whom I have seldom seen and with whom 

 I have hardly exchanged half-a-dozen sentences by 

 word of mouth. This too during the spring and winter 

 thne, and all about Roses ! 



It is pretty well kno^vn that another gentleman, with 

 a passionate love for Tea Roses, left his home in Scot- 

 land because he could not grow them there, and went 

 searching for a place in Great Britain which should be 

 suitable for their culture : and, having found such a 

 spot, at very great expense laid out and prepared his 

 grounds to form, as they undoubtedly do, the finest 

 amateur Tea Rose garden in the country. 



I may perhaps be excused for thinking that Rose- 

 growing as a special pursuit and a hobby is particularly 

 adapted for country parsons. No one can deny that it 

 is as harmless a pursuit as any that can be found, and, 

 without the least neglecting his sacred calling if his 

 cure be a small one, he can find many half-hours of 

 daylight leisure among his Roses, where his parishioners 

 will soon learn to come and look him up at once if he 

 should be wanted. It will afford him varied interest, 

 exercise, and work in the open air all the year round. 

 In tilling the soil, the special work which God gave to 

 man, he will find many a valuable lesson, which he will 



