VII. 



TWO GARDEN FAVORITES. 



[LPHABETICALLY, the lily comes be- 

 fore the rose ; and in the summer- 

 garden, which would lack its greatest 

 charm if deprived of either, the common orange- 

 lily appears before the first June rose. 



Is this significant ; and shall I say the flower 

 singled out in the sixth chapter of St. Matthew's 

 Gospel excels its sister in floral graces and vir- 

 tues ? The rose, as we generally admire it, as it 

 is eulogized by the poets, is a florist's flower. 

 Its rival, equally well known, and almost if not 

 as freely extolled in poetry, owes less to man and 

 more to nature. I would not detract from the 

 rose, when I say it is less graceful than the lily 

 and its form more artificial. In comparative 

 merits of color and fragrance it would be difficult 

 to discriminate; each has its claims that may 



