GENERAL REMARKS. 



205 



officer who carried it for the Pope. The Rose, in its in- 

 trinsic value, was, however, sometimes worth double that 

 sum. 



We have thus given all the information we have been 

 able to collect respecting the history of the Rose. 



We shall feel abundantly gratified if the facts and anec- 

 dotes we have cited shall tend to enhance the already 

 growing interest in this flower ; and by thus connecting 

 it with the lore of antiquity, cast around it a bright halo 

 of pleasant associations. 



Among the various riches of the garden, there are many 

 flowers of great attractions : some we admire for their 

 beautiful forms, others for their brilliant colors, and oth- 

 ers again for their delightful fragrance ; and we scarcely 

 know which to pronounce the most pleasing. But what- 

 ever may be our feelings of admiration for these beautiful 

 flowers, a desire for something still more beautiful draws 

 us to the Rose, and compels us to pronounce it superior 

 to all its rivals. It is the Rose alone that never fatigues, ~ 

 that always exhibits some new beauty, and that is never 

 affected by fashion ; for while Dahlias and other flowers 

 have had their hour of favor, and have passed out of no- 

 tice, the Rose has been a favorite for some three thousand 

 years, and is still the first and most beautiful, — the chef 

 d'^ceuvre of the vegetable kingdom. 



The Rose is rendered a favorite by many pleasant asso- 

 ciations. It has been the cherished flower of the ancient 

 poets, and with modern poets it has lost none of its 

 charms, but is still apostrophized and made an object of 

 frequent comparison. With the ancients, it was, as we 

 have seen, the ornament of their festivals, their altars, 

 and their tombs : it was the emblem of beauty, youth, 

 modesty, and innocence, and was full of tender sentiment 



