. The Gardeners' chronicle : a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. his indignity to his .=:ister, changed Rhodanthe into tiiefirst Rose tree, her subjects into the thorns, and the three princes into butterflies, which still continueto flutter round their cherished love. But it is not the Rose itself only which has engaged the attention of the poet. Roses are red as well aswhite, and to account for the former it is said that, originally white, the flower was stained with the bloodof Venus, whose feet were lacerated by the thorns when she was endeavouring to rescue Ad
. The Gardeners' chronicle : a weekly illustrated journal of horticulture and allied subjects. his indignity to his .=:ister, changed Rhodanthe into tiiefirst Rose tree, her subjects into the thorns, and the three princes into butterflies, which still continueto flutter round their cherished love. But it is not the Rose itself only which has engaged the attention of the poet. Roses are red as well aswhite, and to account for the former it is said that, originally white, the flower was stained with the bloodof Venus, whose feet were lacerated by the thorns when she was endeavouring to rescue Adonis. Spenceralludes to the incident in the following couplet :— White as the native Rose, before the changeWhich Venus blood did in her leaves impress. Tiicn, too, we have to account not only for the colour but also the scent of this peerless flower— Dear to earth its smiling to heaven its rich perfume —a perfume which, we may imagine, was left by the breath of Venus, or imparted to it by some love-lornmaid. This idea is suggested in the following lines by Ben Jonson :—. I sent thee late a rosy so much honouring theeAs giving it a hope that thereIt could not withered be. But thou thereon didst only breathe,And sentst it back to me ;Since when it grows and smells, I swear,Not of itself, but thee. But beauty, bloom, and scent do not exhaust the list of qualifications which have raised the Rose to thehighest pinnacle of floral fame. Other Howers are, beyond doubt, beautiful, brilliant, and sweetly odorous;but what other has a variety which is enveloped in a delicate nest of moss? In this surely is the Roseunique; and to what strange accident is so charming an addition to the most charming of flowers due ?Perhaps some other of Floras favourites, envious of the beauty of the Rose, enveloped it in moss, in thehope of hidmgits charms; but the moss, like modesty in a fair maiJ, only enhances the beauty it is meant tohide. The likening of children to Rose-
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Keywords: ., bo, bookdecade1870, booksubjectgardening, booksubjecthorticulture
