SCARLET GERANIUM. 211 
pleasure by bringing me this morning a pot of Ge- 
ranium : but I can tell you that I made him take 
back the flower ; desiring him not to let me see it 
any more." " And why so 1" asked the young 
man in astonishment. " It was, since you wish to 
know, because the Geranium is a beautiful scarlet 
flower; while you look at it, it pleases the eye ; but, 
when you press it ever so slightly, it gives out a dis- 
agreeable smell." With these words, Madame de 
Stael rose and went out of the room, leaving, you 
may be sure, the cheeks of the young fool as red as 
his coat or the flower to which he had just been 
likened. 
Among the cultivated varieties of the Geranium, 
there are, however, some which have a very agree- 
able scent, and whose flowers exhibit many diver- 
sities of colour. It is also found in a wild state 
under the names of Crane's Bill and Herb Robert. 
The following poetic tribute has been paid to it by 
the latter appellation : — 
I will not sing the mossy rose, 
The jasmine sweet, or lily fair. 
The tints the rich carnation shows, 
The stock's sweet scent that fills the air. 
