44 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES 



that severe climate, the natives, seeking mosses and 

 lichens for their reindeer, find the Rosa majalis and R, 

 rubella, the former of which, brilliant in colour and of 

 a sweet perfume, enlivens the dreariness of Norway, 

 Denmark, and Sweden. 



And I come home now, eagerly as a carrier- 

 pigeon to his native dovecot, to our own Rose- 

 gardens — eagerly, because here, and here only, can 

 our Queen be found in the full splendour of her royal 

 beauty. The Roses of all lands are here, but so 

 changed, so strengthened by climate, diet, and care, 

 so refined by intermarriage with other noble families, 

 that they would no more be recognised by their 

 kinsfolk at home than Cinderella at the ball by 

 her sisters. The fairy. Cultivation, has touched 

 them with her wand, and the pale puny kitchen- 

 girl steps out of her dingy gingham a princess, in 

 velvet and precious point, like some glowing 

 butterfly from his drab cocoon ; or as when, at 

 the Circus, * Paddy from Cork' drops suddenly 

 his broken hat, his slit coat, coarse breeks and 

 brogues, and lo ! he is ' Winged Mercury.' They 

 came, as ambassadors to the Queen's court, 

 savages, 'with nothing on but their nudity,' their 

 luggage a peacock's plume, and now they move 

 with a majestic dignity in gorgeous yet graceful 

 robes. 



