52 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. 



ing, glowing with a colour which, though decidedly " fast," 

 will no more endure soft water than certain of our brightest 

 " bedders " will endure a drenching rain — she, I say, may 

 bewilder the dazzled eye, and captivate the weaker world ; 

 but to the fresh, pure, gentle girl, whose blushes cannot 

 be bought in Bond Street — to her be given St Medard's 

 wreath,* for she only wins the wise man's heart. 



And the Rose, as it is admired, so may it be grown by all. 



3. Ab ovinihits. — Loved by all grades and ages, from the 

 little village child who wreathes it from the hedgerow in his 

 sister's hair, to the princess who holds it in her gemmed 

 boiiquetier, so it may be alike enjoyed in the labourer's 

 garden or in the conservatory of the peer. Wherever it is 

 loved, there will it display its beauty ; and the best Cloth- 

 of-Gold I ever saw was on a cottager's wall. It is adapted 

 for every position, and for every pocket too. The poorest 

 may get his own Briers, and beg a few buds from the 

 rich ; and men of moderate means may make or maintain 

 a Rosary at a very moderate expense. There is nothing 

 in floriculture to be purchased and perpetuated so cheaply 



* In the sixth century, St Medard instituted the custom of giving a wreath 

 of white roses as an annual prize to the most modest and obedient of the maidens 

 at Salency. 



