A SECRET OF THE CHARM OF FLOWERS 157 



flower — buttercup or kingcup, yellow flag, sea 

 poppy, marsh marigold, or broom, or furze, or 

 rock-rose, let us say — by such a word — the word 

 that denotes an intimate and affectionate feeling. 

 Nor could that word of Tennyson be properly 

 used of any pure white flower — the stitchwort 

 for instance ; nor of any white and yellow flower 

 like the Marguerite. But no sooner do you get 

 a touch of rose or crimson in the whitest flower, 

 as we see in the daisy and eyebright, than you 

 can say of it that it is a " dear " or a " darling " 

 colour, and no one can find fault with the 

 expression. 



When we consider the duU and impure yellows 

 sometimes seen in flowers, and some soft yellows 

 seen in combination with pleasing wholesome 

 reds, as in the honeysuckle, we may find some- 

 thing of the expression — the human association — 

 in yellow flowers. For there is yellow in the 

 skin, even in perfect health ; it appears strongest 

 on the neck, and spreads round to the throat and 

 chin, and is a warm buff", very beautiful in some 

 women ; but very little of this tint appears in the 

 face. WTien a tinge of this warm buffy yellow 

 and creamy yellow is seen mixed with warmer 



