214 
LANGUAGE AND 
SWEET WILLIAM. 
Dianthus barbatus . . . Class] 0; Order 2, 
Indigenous to Germany, but naturalized in our coun¬ 
try. Flowers aggregate, one stem supporting a 
large and brilliant bunch of blossoms. Root pe¬ 
rennial. 
GALLANTRY.-FINESSE.-DEXTERITY. 
The knights of old might envy thee 
Thy courtly grace of mien, 
Thy noble daring, brave and free, 
In every dangerous scene. 
To age how kind thy courtesy, 
To woman how sincere 1 
Alike removed from vanity, 
From artifice and fear. 
The 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 florigraphi- 
cal name of finesse. . 
The Bearded Pink, as it is sometimes desig¬ 
nated, is known to the French as the ‘‘poet’s 
eye,” because of the manner in which its petals 
are marked. 
