2 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. 



Steadfast mate the lady of his love is lovely ever, 

 so to the true Rose-grower must the Rose-tree be 

 always a thing of beauty. To others, when its 

 flowers have faded, it may be worthless as a 

 hedge- row thorn : to him, in every phase, it is 

 precious. I am no more the Rose, it says, but 

 cherish me, for we have dwelt together ; and the 

 glory which has been, and the glory which shall 

 be, never fade from Jiis Jicart. 



Is it rare or frequent, this fond and complete 

 affection ? Go to one of our great exhibitions, 

 and you must surely bring the conviction home, 

 that true love, seen seldom in the outer world, 

 may be always found ''among the Roses." From 

 all grades and epochs of life, what vows of con- 

 stancy, what fervid words ! ** Sir Thomas and I 

 are positively going to ruin ourselves with a new 

 Rosarium." ''As soon as I get home," says a 

 country rector, " I shall plant an acre of my glebe 

 with Roses." There you may see a Royal 

 Duchess so surprised out of her normal calmness, 

 that she raises two pale pink gloves in an ecstasy 

 of surprise, and murmurs, " Oh, how lovely !" 

 over Marechal Niel. There a Cabinet Minister 

 stands tiptoe to catch a glimpse of his brother 

 senator, Vazsse, and wishes he had a neck as long 

 as Cicero's. Obstructing his view with her ample 



