The Book of Flowers, by Mrs. HALE, is an American
trans- plant—a catalogue of flowers, with brief notices, stating their genus, class, and order, and some passages from the poets illustra- tive of the sentimental characteristics of each: thus we have, first, the quotation where the flower is mentioned, in connexion with its symbolical meaning; then, an extract embodying the sentiment so typified ; and sometimes a response is added. These extracts are from various English poets who have spoken of flowers in the par- ticular sense ascribed to them; but in many instances they are from American writers, and not a few from the pen of the editress ; whose poetry is elegapt of the lyrical kind. Indexes, containing alphabetical lists ot the flowers and their interpretations, supply a ready clue to the sentimental nomenclature. In how much it differs from that of the Aanguage of Flowers, we have not taken the pains to ascertain, as it is not for such matter-of-fact critics as we to settle the floral philology.
This elegant Mlle itofttme is embellished by a few brightly- coloured plates of flowers, which might have been more numerous..
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