CHAPTER XII 



FRAGRANCE IN THE HERB-GARDEN 

 ' This broth of smells, that feeds and fats my minde,"* 



' J'ai des bouquets pour tous les gouts ; 

 Venez choisir dans ma corbeille ; 

 De plusieurs les parfums sont doux 

 De tous, la vertu sans pareille.' 



Considering how large a part the visible plays in 

 our enjoyment of gardens, it is not a little sur- 

 prising to notice how much of their charm also 

 depends upon the invisible. Grace of movement, 

 as the wind sways and the sun flickers, and glory 

 of colour, as the flowers come into bloom, are so 

 associated in our minds with the delight of gardens 

 that we forget to recognize the part that is played 

 in them by that which we see not. But is there 

 not something almost more wonderful and subtle 

 about the unseen gift of fragrance than about the 



more striking gift of colour ? Scent is less ex- 



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