102 THE CARNATION. 



respect to Sharpe's Defiance ; and as for Sovereign, 

 he was never half a good one. ' 



' Bless me, Master Blossom ! do I hear such lan- 

 guage from you ? There's treason and treachery in 

 the very sound of it : I cannot listen with patience ; 

 for have not I heard you praise those old flowers as 

 much as I have ever done ? * 



' And so you may again; but surely I may have 

 the liberty to express what I think of these new seed- 

 lings, which deservedly claim admiration. What 

 proof can you want ? 



' Has not this modern Achilles bravely fought his 

 way into notice, and beat his opponents with ease ? 

 Has not Finmore's Rising Sun exalted himself by 

 his splendour and magnitude, and outshone all his 

 competitors ? and has not Pittman's Rising Sun also 

 been the envy and admiration of all that came within 

 the view of his broad illumined disk for three years 

 past ? Has not Strong's Prince of Denmark con- 

 ducted himself like a true and valiant prince, and 

 carried off, more than once, the palm of victory ? 

 and has not his lovely Esther, arrayed in pure white 



