MYRTLE. 105 
At Rome the Myrtle-garland of the Loves was 
sometimes mingled, in honour of Mars and Venus, 
with the laurel on the triumphant conqueror's 
brow. And now that triumphs have ceased at the 
Capitol, the Roman ladies have retained a strong 
predilection for this plant. They prefer its odour to 
that of the most fragrant essences, and they impreg- 
nate their baths with a water distilled from its 
leaves, persuaded that the plant of Venus must be 
favourable to beauty. If the ancients were posses- 
sed by a similar persuasion, if they truly deemed it 
the symbol of love, it was because they had observ- 
ed that the Myrtle, wherever it grows, excludes al* 
other plants. Just so love, wherever it has estab- 
lished its sway, excludes from the heart all other 
feelings. 
