i LETTERS TO MARCO 5 



it is not to be found in the catalogues or 

 gardens of modern rose-growers. It is called 

 the velvet rose, and boasts an ancestry quite 

 as old as the days of Queen Elizabeth ; it is 

 well and fully described by Gerard in his 

 Herbal, and no doubt must have been seen 

 and smelt by Shakespeare : possibly it was the 

 badge of the Lancastrians. I prize it more 

 than any of the huge blooms of the hybrid 

 perpetuals, with their human names, which 

 figure in our rose shows ; it is small and 

 shows a tuft of orange gold stamens in its 

 centre, the contrast of which with the dark 

 velvety character of its petals is perfectly 

 Titianesque. 



The yew hedges which I planted are fast 

 becoming clippable, the pleasure of doing 

 which I intend to reserve for myself. The 

 autumn is now well upon us, as the colchicum 

 blooms bear witness. The swallows are be- 

 ginning to congregate on the river banks 

 previous to leaving. Owls hoot and screech ; 

 when I go into the garden on starlight 



