HISTORICAL SKETCH 



xxxix 



to our minds the sweet suiTOundings of our youth, which 

 Kirke White so tastefully describes — 



* That hut is mine ; that cottage half embower'd 

 With modest Jessamine, and that sweet spot, 

 Where, ranged in neat array, 



Grew countless sweets, the Wallflower and the Pink, 

 And the thick Thyme bush — even that is mine : 

 And the old Rose that shades the court 

 Has been my joy from very childhood up.' 



Again — 



' I remember, I remember, 



A garden long ago ; 

 'Tis not laid out in modern style, 



In curious bed and row. 

 And only sweet old-fashioned flowers 



Grow freely, gaily, there, 

 And make a mass of glorious bloom. 



And perfume all the air. ' 



The late Miss North, whose writings breathe so freshly of 

 the Nature she loved so dearly, has expressed herself in 

 similar strain, and so also has Mrs. Meredith, who we believe 

 now resides in Tasmania. 



In many parts of Germany and Northern Europe it is the 

 custom when a maiden is laid in her coffin to crown her with 

 a Myrtle wreath, whilst this flower, the emblem of love and 

 chastity (and already consecrated to Aphrodite, representative 

 herself in the beginning of the purest conception of the world's 

 first principle) constitutes an essential part of the bridal array 

 in our own country, and the sprigs are often planted and 

 produce a shrubby tree always enshrouded with cherished 

 memories. 



The first idea of wearing Orange blossoms comes from the 

 Saracens, amongst whom the Orange branch was considered 

 an emblem of prosperity, thus the fashion extended through 

 France, and it now takes a leading place in bridal adornment. 



