246 A FLOWER CHRISTENING. 



complete rose leaf, well ribboned, well formed, and 

 the colour that of the royal Provence rose, bright 

 and brilliant. Jack swore that Mr. Greenhorn was 

 one of the luckiest fellows he ever knew in his life, 

 and that the flower should be called the Rose of 

 Roses ; this name was also adopted. A fresh bottle 

 was called for, and the baptismal toast drunk as 

 before with glee. The spirits of the company began 

 now to be volatilized, and the tones of their voices 

 mellowed and heightened; they were all talkers 

 and no hearers ; a charming discord of merry sounds 

 or songs was also heard, and coarse jokes cracked as 

 thick as nuts. The exhaustion of the bottle pro- 

 duced a pause, and another flower was brought for- 

 ward, a crimson bizarre. Ned Ricklas undertook 

 to point out its beauties. ( Observe here,' cries 

 Ned, ' the genuine colours of the rainbow ; here's 

 crimson, scarlet, and purple, softened down in a 

 variety of shades : I mean to call this, for I am 

 a bit of a botanist/ said Ned, ' after old father 

 Linnaeus, a flower worthy of him, and he of the 

 flower.' A peal of approbation followed : Green- 



