AMERICAN PREFACE. 
vi 
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Thus we have an English vocabulary, which the great 
poet undoubtedly found current amongst his people, whether 
or not borrowed and brought home by Crusaders and adven¬ 
turers from the East, where lovers have little other alpha¬ 
bet save that furnished by Flora ; and it is one most beau¬ 
tifully apposite. Time has gradually increased the mate¬ 
rials, by donations from every soil, till now the Language 
of Flowers may be considered as reduced to a science, in 
which form, color, position, and time, are all and each to be 
studied, in order rightly to interpret the mysteries of the 
bouquet. 
Where the tendency of literature is in a vein of too much 
intensity, as in our country, a work, calm, fresh and genial 
as is this of the “ gentle basket-maker,” cannot fail to be 
right welcome to the finest spirits of our country. It has all 
the clearness and healthfulness of a thorough English mind, 
and, as such, is worthy of a most cordial greeting. 
Brooklyn, L. I.. May, 1847. 
