

8 THE ROSE. 

and stripping this of the mythological phrase- 
ology, which in all cases was a fictitious mantle 
thrown around something previously felt, no 
similitude of any flower could be more ap- 
propriate. The rosebud, the sweetest object that 
appears in the garden, is typical of all begin- 
nings from the issue of which joy and pleasure 
may be expected. 
“Ah, see the Virgin Rose, how sweetly shee 
Dost first peep forth with bashful modestie, 
That fairer seems, the less you see her may! 
Lo! see soon after, how more bold and free 
Her bared bosom she doth broad display! 
Lo! see soon after how she fades and falls away!’ 
Spenser’s Faerie Queen—1589. 
The early dawn; young schemes and projects; 
young life; young love, and a hundred other 
associations, all of a delightful kind, are 
associated with the Rosebud. There seems a 
physical attraction in it beyond all flowers in 
every stage of its growth, and an attraction 
which addresses itself strongly to the feelings. 
When roses are in full bloom, they certainly 
are the most delightful flowers the amateurs can 
cultivate; the Rose is the most obedient to his 
labor, and rewards the cultivator richly for his’ 


