258 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES. 



no Mede nor Persian ever made law more unal- 

 terable than this : The largest Roses must be placed 

 at the backy the smallest in the fj'ont, and the in- 

 termediate in the middle of your boxes. They be- 

 come by this arrangement so gradually, beautifully 

 less, that the disparity of size is imperceptible. 

 Transgress this rule, and the result will be disas- 

 trous, ludicrous, as when some huge London car- 

 riage-horse is put in harness with the paternal 

 cob, or as when some small but ambitious dancer 

 runs round and round the tallest girl at the ball in 

 the gyrations of the mazy waltz. So Triomphe 

 de Rennes in "your front row is a beautiful yellow 

 Rose. Placed in juxtaposition to Marechal Niel, 

 its name becomes a cruel joke ; your little gem is 

 lost beside the Koh-i-noor, and your bright star 

 pales before the rising sun its ineffectual fire. 



You will have another advantage in commenc- 

 ing with your finest flowers, because of these you 

 will have (or ought to have) the larger stock, and 

 will thus be able to lay at the same time and in 

 the same order the foundation of your different 

 collections, using the same corner-stone in each 

 (begin always with some glorious Rose, which must 

 attract the judicial eye, and make an impression 

 upon the judicial heart), and assimilating the ar- 

 rangement, as long as you possess the material. 



