FLORAL CEREMONIES. 129 



much has been said and written, that we might 

 fill a volume with mere quotations ; by the 

 ancients beauty and divinity were alike crowned 

 with them the objects of their earthly love, 

 and of their unearthly adoration ; they have 

 equally graced the altar and the domestic 

 hearth ; the temple, the palace, and the cottage ; 

 and even down to the 'present day, wherever 

 shrines and images are set up as visible 'mani- 

 festations of things holy and invisible, there do 

 wreaths and garlands of flowers continue to be 

 offered and suspended ; and among those who, 

 like ourselves, reject as sinful, or, at least quite 

 unnecessary, all created forms and vain repre- 

 sentations of the Deity, they are considered as 

 the fittest ornaments for female loveliness and 

 childish innocence ; and the most beautiful 

 objects wherewith we can regale the senses in 

 seasons of festivity and rejoicing. 



As we look upon these pictures we are 

 transported in fancy to Arcadian fields and 

 groves ; the green valley and the sparkling 

 rivulet are before us ; the sound of the shep- 

 herd's pipe, the soft bleating of the sheep, and 



