INTRODUCTORY PREFACE. 



is ignorant of those enchanting dehcacies of feehng which 

 impart value to a sigh, which render a look of importance, 

 which give meaning to a word but half uttered, which stamp 

 worth upon a flower that the one detains and the other allows 

 to be taken. A heart filled with indifference is as far re- 

 moved from happiness as from excellence. It is necessary 

 to have known what love is ; to have undergone some conflict 

 in order to be good, tender, and, generous. But it is not in 

 the heart of cities, — it is in the fields, in the midst of flowers, 

 that the affections flourish in purity and power. 



The Language of Flowers lends its charms to friendship, 

 to gratitude, to filial and maternal affection. Even the 

 unfortunate may obtain help from this gentle language. 

 The unhappy Roucher, alone in his prison, consoled himself 

 by studying the flowers which his daughter used to gather 

 for him ; and, alas ! a few days before his death, he sent 

 to her two dried lilies, to express at the same time the 

 purity of his soul and the fate that awaited him. How 

 often may we see, in the crowded thoroughfares of our cities, 

 children seeking to help their poor mothers, by offering 

 small bouquets for sale! It was while presenting a Rose 

 to his master, that the poet Sadi undertook to break his 

 fetters : " Do well," he said, " to thy servant whilst thou 

 hast it in thy power, for the duration of power is often as 

 short as the blooming of this lovely Rose." 



We have received from the ancients, and from Eastern 



