174 JUSTICE SHALL EE DONE YOU. 
inn, and, admiring the truth of the land¬ 
scapes, offered and gave a hundred florins for 
that which had not cost a crown, and pro¬ 
mised, at the same time, to take all the artist 
could produce. Thus the reputation of the 
painter was established, and his fortune made. 
As wise as happy, he never forgot his _ dear 
mill; we find the representation of it in all 
his pictures, which are so many master 
pieces. Who would believe that plants have 
the same fate as men, and that they require 
a patron to appreciate them ? 
Coltsfoot, notwithstanding its sweet smell, 
had remained a long time unknown at the 
foot of Mount Pila, where no doubt it would 
still have bloomed in obscurity, if a learned 
botanist, M. Yillau de Grenoble, had not 
appreciated its beneficent qualities. This 
perfumed plant appears at a season when all 
others have disappeared. As the great artist 
eulogised the poor painter, -so did M. Villau 
the humble flower ; he gave it a distinguished 
rank in his works : and, since then, the tus- 
silage has been cultivated with care, and 
perfumes our brilliant saloons. 
