OUR QUEEN OF BEAUTY 51 



some plaintive horn in the calm eventide, some 

 mellow ouzel fluting in the elm, or some sweet 

 simple song. The gorgeous dame of fashion, the 

 loud undaunted woman of the world, prismatic, 

 brilliant, flaunting, glowing with a colour which, 

 though decidedly 'fast,' will no more endure soft 

 water than certain of our brightest ^bedders' will 

 endure a drenching rain — she, I say, may bewilder 

 the dazzled eye, and captivate the weaker brain ; 

 but to the fresh, pure, gentle girl, whose blushes 

 cannot be bought in Bond Street — to her be given 

 St. Medard's wreath, for she only wins the wise 

 man's heart. 



And the Rose, as it is admired, so may it be 

 grown by all. 



Ab omnibus, — Loved by all grades and ages, 

 from the little village child who wreathes it from 

 the hedgerow in his sister's hair, to the princess 

 who holds it in her gemmed boiiquetier, so it may 

 be alike enjoyed in the labourer's garden or in the 

 conservatory of the peer. Wherever it is loved, 

 there will it display its beauty ; and the best Cloth- 

 of-Gold I ever saw was on a cottager's wall. It 

 is adapted for every position, and for every pocket 

 too. The poorest may get his own Briers, and beg 

 a few buds from the rich ; and men of moderate 

 means may make or maintain a Rosary at a very 



