splendid silk. It is possible to wan- 

 der for days through these flower 

 gardens and enjoy their beauty. 



But Holland is not alone in her love 

 for this flower, nor in the legends 

 which gather about it. By one of 

 those curious anomalies the tulip 

 has had various unpleasant qualities 

 fastened upon it. It is the symbol 

 of inconstancy. The poets, too, use 

 her ill, and call her "flaunting" and 

 "bold," comparing her disadvanta- 

 geously with other flowers. 



In "The Speech of Flowers," by 

 Thomas Fuller, written about 1640, 

 he causes the rose to complain about 

 the favour into which the tulip has 

 come. 



"There is lately [says the rose] a 

 flower — shal I call it so ? — in cour- 

 tesie I will tearme it so, though it 

 deserve not the appellation, a Toolip, 

 which hath engrafted the love and 



22 



