58 GENERAL REMARKS. 



beautiful draws us to the Rose, and compels us to pronounce it 

 superior to all its rivals. It is the Rose alone that never fatigues, 

 that always exhibits some new beauty, and that is never affected 

 by fashion ; for while Dahlias and other flowers have had their 

 hour of favor, and have passed out of notice, the Rose has been 

 a favorite for some three thousand years, and is still the first and 

 most beautiful, — the chef d'osuvre of the vegetable kingdom. 



The Rose is rendered a favorite by many pleasant associations. 

 It has been, as we have shown, the cherished flower of the an- 

 cient poets, and it will be shown again, that with modern poets, 

 it has lost none of its charms, but is still apostrophized and made 

 an object of frequent comparison. With the ancients, it was, 

 as we have seen, the ornament of their festivals, their altars, and 

 their tombs : it was the emblem of beauty, youth, modesty and 

 innocence, and was full of tender sentiment and pleasant images. 

 A French writer, in a somewhat more extravagant vein of lau- 

 dation, says, " Its name alone gives birth in all sensible minds to 

 a crowd of pleasant thoughts, while, at the same time, it excites 

 a sensation of the most delightful pleasures, and the most sweet 

 enjoyments." The name of " Q.ueen of Flowers," has been 

 given to the Rose, almost from time immemorial ; but this name 

 is particularly applicable to the centifolia and the hybrids from 

 it, among which the Rose figured in this work — La Heine — stands 

 conspicuous. For size, form and brilliant color, it stands indeed 

 the Q,ueen among Roses. But the little, modest wild-rose, found 

 only in woods and hedges, adorns the solitude where it grows, 

 and possesses for many a charm not surpassed by that of any 

 of the cultivated varieties : its regularly formed corolla, of a soft 

 and delicate color, combines in its simplicity many an attraction 

 not found in the most beautiful flowers of the garden ; and late 

 in the season, when the fields are stripped of their verdure, the 

 landscape is enlivened by the bright appearance of its red, coral- 

 like fruit. 



The beauty of the Rose has preserved it and its reputation for 

 many ages. The most populous nations, the largest cities, the most 

 wealthy and powerful kingdoms, have disappeared from the earth, 



