io4 A BOOK ABOUT ROSES 



ward, and Manus Tucb fecerunt is his psalm of 

 praise ? 



And the truths of Revelation, the histories and 



the prophecies of the Older Testament, the miracles 



and parables of the New, are taught as constantly 



and as clearly to the gardener in his daily life. In 



our gardens always 



* There is a book, who runs may read, 

 Which heavenly truth imparts ' — 



ever reminding us of that Eden wherein were all 

 things pleasant to the eye and good for food ; of 

 Gethsemane, and of that garden where our crucified 

 Lord was laid. What is our love of flowers, our 

 calm happiness in our gardens, but a dim recollection 

 of our first home in paradise, and a yearning for the 

 Land of Promise ! Here in the wilderness we love 

 . to reclaim these green spots from the brier and 

 thorn ; to fence and to cleanse ; to plant and sow ; 

 to sit at eventide, when work is done, every man 

 under his vine and under his fig-tree, with thank- 

 fulness and hope. 



With hope, because these our gardens — scenes 

 though they be of brightest beauty to our eyes, and 

 sources of our purest joys — do not satisfy, are not 

 meant to satisfy, our heart's desire. Perishable as 

 we ourselves, for the grass withereth, the flower 

 fadeth, they are, moreover, like all our handiwork, 



