Sweet William. 
(FINESSE—DEXTERITY.) 
T HE Sweet William , a member of the Pink family, from 
the charming manner in which it arranges its variegated 
blossoms into bouquet-shaped clusters, is well worthy of its 
florigraphical name of finesse. 
The Bearded Pink, as it is sometimes designated, is known 
to our French neighbours as the “ poet’s eye,” because of the 
manner in which its petals are marked. 
Gerarde, the old Elizabethan gardener, mentions this flower 
as being highly esteemed in his days “to deck up gardens, the 
bosoms of the beautiful, garlands, and crowns for pleasure.” 
The narrow-leaved kinds are called “sweet Johns,” the broad¬ 
leaved unspotted ones are sometimes named “ London tufts,” 
and the small speckled species, “London pride.” In fact, 
there are too many varieties for specification here. 
It has already been observed that the classic name for the 
floral family to which this flower belongs signifies “Jove’s 
flower,” but in England that is generally confined to the pink, 
commonly so called ; and this distinction has afforded Cow¬ 
ley an opportunity of making these facetious remarks : 
“Sweet William small, has form and aspect bright, 
Like that sweet flower that yields great Jove delight; 
Had he majestic bulk he’d now be styled 
Jove’s flower ; and, if my skill is not beguiled, 
He was Jove’s flower when Jove was but a child. 
Take him with many flowers in one conferred, 
He’s worthy Jove, e’en now he has a beard.” 
Allusion has been made to the strange horror manifested by 
some people on smelling the perfume of, or seeing, certain 
flowers : Voltaire gives the history of a young officer who was 
thrown into convulsions and lost his senses through having 
pinks in his room. Shakspeare, never willing to let anything 
pass unnoted by, causes Shylock to speak of such strange 
antipathies of human nature, to account for which, as he says, 
“there is no firm reason to be rendered.” 
