NOVEMBER 227 



1835. 'The Language of Flowers, with Illustrative 

 Poetry.' Inseparable from a collection of flower-books 

 of this period is one example at least of the curious 

 childish sentiment — or, rather, of the sentimentality 

 which was the fashion of the day. The frontispiece is a 

 little bouquet of flowers which means, being interpreted, 

 ' Your beauty and modesty have forced from me a 

 declaration of Love.' It is always the woman's fault, 

 somehow, in aU times. The little book is dedicated to 

 the Duchess of Kent. The ' illustrative ' flower- writing 

 is curious, and the dictionary of the language of flowers 

 very arbitrary. How utterly the whole thing has passed 

 away ! The outside of the little book, bound in stamped 

 green silk, is rather pretty. 



1837. ' Amaryllidaceas,' by the Honourable and 

 Eeverend William Herbert, and dedicated to Leopold, 

 King of the Belgians. This book is very botanical, and 

 dry to the ordinary reader, though, I should think, com- 

 prehensibly descriptive and interesting to the student. 

 The drawings are good and dehcate, and very slightly 

 coloured. 



1889. 'Pinetum Wobumensis, or a Catalogue of 

 Coniferous Plants in the Collection of the Duke of 

 Bedford, at Woburn Abbey, systematically arranged.' 

 This is a very handsome book, unfortunately not large 

 enough to show off the really fine plates to advantage, as 

 they are aU folded in half in the middle. I imagine it is 

 the only work of its kind, and seems, so far as I can 

 judge, to be very complete. Considering how late was 

 the date of publication, the plates are very well drawn 

 and coloured by hand. The introduction, dated 1839, is 

 written by the Duke of Bedford. In it he gives such an 

 amusing anecdote of his grandfather that I cannot resist 

 quoting it : — ' In the year 1743 my grandfather planted 

 the large plantation in Woburn Park known by the 



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