28 
INTRODUCTION. 
trate this that flowers were ingeniously made 
emblematical of our most delicate senti¬ 
ments ; they do, in fact, utter in “ silent elo¬ 
quence” a language better than writing; 
they are the delicate symbols of the illusions 
of a tender heart and of a lively and bril¬ 
liant imagination. In the glorious days of 
chivalry, the respectful lover oft made use of 
the sweet language of flowers. Gothic hooks 
are full of emblems composed of flower?; 
and we find, in the romance of Perceforet, 
that a garland of roses is the lover’s treasure. 
We read also in that of Amadis, that Oriana, 
a prisoner who had neither the opportunity 
of speaking or writing to her lover, apprised 
him of her misfortune by throwing, from 
the high tower in which she was confined, a 
rose bathed in her tears. What a charming 
expression of sorrow and of love! The Chi¬ 
nese have an alphabet composed entirely of 
plants and roots ; and we may yet read upon 
the rocks of Egypt the ancient conquests 
over that people, recorded by foreign plants. 
This language is as old as the world, but its 
