THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS. 207 



no disappointment ; a contest which shall cause no 

 scandal and give rise to no offence. We shall pass 

 in review the Beauties of Bank and Brae, of Hedge- 

 row and Hill-side, of Mountain and Meadow, and 

 award the prizes without prejudice. I propose to 

 take the different families in their natural order ; or, 

 rather, in the order given by the Floras, which, as 

 every botanist knows, is not strictly natural. 



The Buttercups (Ranunculus) are the first to 

 present themselves ; but we shall dismiss the brazen 

 Beauties at once. They stand no chance against 

 their cousins, the Hellebores. Trollius, in spite of 

 her rustic embonpoint, is a handsome flower. This 

 and the charming Columbine (Aquilegia) are abundant 

 in the Maritime Alps. But there can be no doubt that 

 in this family the prize must be awarded to the Peony. 

 This flower may be almost said to rival the Rose. 

 The Queen of flowers has perfume, it is true, but 

 there exists a perfumed Peony. You may find the 

 wild Peony in many places near the coast. It grows 

 at Thorenc, and at Caussols, above Grasse, and on the 

 Mt. Baudon, just behind Mentone. But there is a 

 spot, within a drive of Nice, where the Peony is so 

 abundant that it covers the hill-side. When these 

 plants are in flower in early May the effect is magical ; 

 the Riviera has no finer sight to offer. The locality 

 is above Vence, on the road to Coursegoules, but a 

 long way on this side of that mountain village which 

 hangs on the flanks of Mt. Cheiron. 



It is likely that before many years are out the 

 Peony and many other conspicuous wild flowers will 

 disappear irom these uplands. The gardeners from 

 the coast ascend with carts during the Summer, and 



