THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS. I3 
belonging to it; and you may quarrel, 
reproach, or send letters of passion, friend¬ 
ship, or civility, or even of news, without 
even inking your fingers.” 
In the letter the following flowers are 
employed ;— 
Jonquil. —Have pity on my passion. 
Rose. —May you be pleased, and all your sorrows 
be mine. 
A Straw. —Suffer me to be your slave. 
A pearl, a pear, soap; cloth, hair, and gold 
wire are all pressed into the same service : 
but as we have only to do at present with 
flowers, we omit the meanings of the other 
contents of the purse. 
The European flower-language was uti¬ 
lized, and almost formed, by Aime Martin ; 
and the earlier works on the subject were 
only translations or adaptations from the 
French: but English writers have a good 
deal altered and modified it since ; and as 
new flowers come yearly to us from other 
lands, every fresh vocabulary may contain 
additional words or sentences, even as our 
own tongue grows by grafts from other 
languages. 
