168 THE POETRY OF FLOWERS 
hands of De Notre, in the gardens of Versailles. “ These gar¬ 
dens,” says Mr. Philips, “ which cost Louis the Fourteenth be¬ 
tween eight and nine hundred thousand pounds sterling, are 
well calculated to display courtly pomp, and that kind of mag¬ 
nificent revelry, which this monarch indulged in. But to us 
this heavy grandeur appears more gloomy than the thickest 
forest, except when the alleys and walks are crowded with 
company, and the waterworks are in full action. Then every 
beholder must be struck with the splendour of the scene, which 
the dress of the French ladies is particularly calculated to im¬ 
prove ; for the gayety of their costume relieves the sombre ap¬ 
pearance of the trained hornbeam and clipped elm. Their 
light gauze, gay ribands, feathers, and flowers, substitute blos¬ 
soms ; for, while one seems to display a basket of roses on her 
head, others carry nodding thyrsuses of lilac, or waving labur¬ 
num; and with the mixture of poppies, nasturtiums, and sun¬ 
flowers, with which they are bedecked, you forget that the 
trees are without blossom, for here you see the gay ranks of 
scarlet soldiers, and there files of green elms; here wave the 
winged leaves of the acacia, there bows the no less pliable 
head of the courtier; here dances the jet-d’eau in air, there 
drops to the earth the well-taught courtesying belle; here mon¬ 
sters spout out water to cool the air, while flattery as abun¬ 
dantly sends forth her streams to refresh the vain. In one spot 
we see the proud officer flaunting round the brazen image of 
Venus, while the opposite angle shows the sentimental dame 
reclining on the pedestal of Mars, or Jupiter. Agricola, a Ger¬ 
man author, says this scene gave him a foretaste of Paradise.” 
She binds not her luxuriant hair 
With dazzling gem or costly plume, 
But gayly wreaths a rosebud there, 
To match her maiden-bloom. 
F. s. o. 
