230 FLOWERS AND FOLKS. 



abominable odor, and it is not unheard of 

 that inconspicuous or even downright homely 

 sorts should be accounted precious for their 

 sweetness; while, as everybody knows, few 

 members of our native flora are more grace- 

 ful in appearance than the very two whose 

 simple touch is poison. Could anything be 

 more characteristic of human nature than 

 just such inconsistencies? Suavity and 

 trickery, harshness and integrity, a fiery 

 temper and a gentle heart, how often do 

 we see the good and the bad dwelling to- 

 gether! We would have ordered things dif- 

 ferently, I dare say, had they been left to 

 us, the good should have been all good, 

 and the bad all bad ; and yet, if it be a grief 

 to feel that the holiest men have their fail- 

 ings, it ought perhaps to be a consolation, 

 rather than an additional sorrow, to perceive 

 that the most vicious are not without their 

 virtues. Beyond which, shall we presume to 

 suggest that as poisons have their use, so 

 moral evil, give it time enough, may turn out 

 to be not altogether a curse ? 



I have treated my subject too fancifully, 

 I fear. Indeed, there comes over me at this 

 moment a sudden suspicion that my subject 



