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196 IMMERMANN IMMORTELLES Mantua, for promoting peace among Christian princes; this order was confirmed in 1625 by Urban VIII., who gave to the members the rule of the third order of St. Francis. It was composed of noblemen, and rapidly acquired great importance; but political events caused its dissolution. In Portugal John VI. founded, Feb. 6, 1818, the military order of " Our Lady of the Conception of Villaviciosa." MI.1IKKM l.VV Karl Lebreeht, a German author, born in Magdeburg, April 24, 1796, died in Dusseldorf, Aug. 25, 1840. He qualified him- self at Jena for the Prussian judiciary service, in which he found employment, and became at the same time known as a dramatist and poet. He received a judicial appointment at Dusseldorf in 1827, and resumed his professional duties after having incurred heavy losses in a disinter- ested attempt to manage the Dtisseldorf theatre in conformity with high conceptions of art. He published admirable tragedies, such as Alexi and Merlin, and fine comedies, but they were not adapted for the stage. His other produc- tions comprise an entertaining fairy tale, Tuli- fantchen, several volumes of poetry and mis- cellanous writings, and a novel in imitation of Goethe's Wilhelm Meuter entitled DieEpigonen (2 vols., 1836); but his great fame chiefly rests upon his Nimchhausen (4 vols., 1838-'9), which passed through several editions. His complete works were published in 14 volumes (Dussel- dorf, 1834-'43). See his Memorabilien (Ham- burg, 1840, unfinished); Freiligrath's Earl Immermann, Blatter der Erinnerung an ihn (Stuttgart, 1842); and his biography by Putlitz (2 vols., Berlin, 1870). IMMORTELLES, a name given by the French to those flowers which from their papery nature Ilellcllrysuni orientate. do not wither on drying, known in this country as "everlasting flowers," and are furnished by plants in widely different families. The immortelle so largely used by the French, made up into wreaths, crosses, and other designs, is helichrysum orientate, a perennial composite from the island of Crete (and formerly called gnaphalium), which, upon stems about a foot high, bears dense clusters of bright yellow globular flower heads, about the size of a large pea; as far north as Paris this is a tender plant, but in the south of France large quanti- ties are raised to supply the demand. The usual French immortelle wreath consists of these in their natural color, made into a heavy circle with a motto worked in of the same flowers dyed black. There are several annual species and varieties of helichrymm, with much larger flowers and of various colors, that are common in our gardens, where they are culti- vated for making winter bouquets. These and all other everlasting flowers should be gathered before they have fully expanded, tied in small bunches, and hung up to dry. Other plants of the composite used for the same purpose are Ammobiuni alatiun. aeroelinium roseum, with a white variety; ammobium alatum, small white; helipterum Sanfordii and H. corymbosum, yellow and white ; rhodanthe Mangletii and its varieties, from white to dark purple, the most beautiful and delicate of all, whether fresh or dry; Waitzia aurea and xeranthemum annitmn, with white, blue, and purple varieties. Besides these, the globe amaranths (ffomphrena), several spe- cies of statice, and gypsophila are cultivated for drying. Quite as pretty as any of these exotics is our pearly everlasting, antennaria margari- tacea, which is common all over the northern states on dry knolls and in woods ; this if gath- ered sufficiently early makes a fine immortelle, and being white, may be colored according to fancy. Considerable quantities of immortelles are imported by American seedsmen, both in bunches and made up in bouquets, baskets, and designs. One establishment in Prussia has 100 acres devoted entirely to their cultivation.