Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1853-09-04
1ailp Nmon& Amrritan
A Discourse on Flowers.
BY HENRY WARD BEEcHER.


bodys commoncst Flowers growing in noisom
places; in desolate corners, upon rubbish, or ranl
desolaton, become diSagreeabIe. Roadside flowers
inradicable and hardly beyond all discouragenlent
lose themselves from our sense of decaey and pro
lection. And, generally there is disposition tt
undervalue common flowers. elf plant be uncouth
it has no attractions TO US simply because it ha;
been brought from the end of the earth and is q
great rarity and if it has beauty, If is the
less, but great deal more attractive to us, because
it is common. 1t adds generosity to beauty. Ii
gives JOY to the poor, the rude, and to the multi
tudes who could have none were nature to charge a
price for her blossoms Is a cloud less beautiful
or sea, or mountain prospect, because often seen
or seen by millions?
At any rate, while we lose no foudness for emf
nent and accomplished flowers, we are conscious of
growing respect for the democratic crowds. There
is for instance the mullen of but little beauty in
each aoweret, but brave plant growing cheerfully
and heartily out of abandoned SOILS ruling its root
with broad-palmed, generous, velvet leaves aud E.
recting thererOm spire that always inellnes us to
stop for kindly look. This fine plant is left, like
a decaycd old gentleman with us, to good-natured
pity. But in other countries it is flower, and
called the american velvet plant"
We confess to homely enthusiasm for clover
not the white clover, beloved of honeybees, but the
red clover 1t holds up its round honest head, with
such rustic innocence, Do you ever see it without
thinking of sound, sensible country lass, sun
Drowned and fearless as innocence always should
be? We go past field of red clover, like Solo
mon In garden of spices. There is the burdccF,
too, with its prckly rosettes that has little beauty
or value, except Qike some kind brown, goodna-
tured nurses an amusement to children, who man
ufacture baskets and what not of burs. But the
thistle Is prince. Let any man that has an eve
for beauty take view of the whole plant, and see
where is more expressive grace and symmetry: and
where is there more kngly flower? To be sure,
there sharp objections to it in boquet yet most
gardeners feel toward a thistle as boys toward a
snake-and farmers, with more reason dread it like
a plague. But it is just as beautiful as though it
universal fayorite. What shall we say of
may-weed, irreyerently called dog-fennel by some?
Its aerid juice, its heavy pungent odor make it dis
agreeable-and being disagreeable, its enormous
Mathusian increase renders it hateful to damsels of
white stockings, compelled to walk through it on
dewy meFnings Arise O scythe, and devour it,
The first thing that defes the frost in spring. is
the chick-weed, 1t will open its floral eye and look
the thermometer in the face at - degrees; it leads
out the snow-drop and crocus. As a harbinger and
herald let it not be forgotten.
Won cannot c,rra+ No., IL -
kisses all over the cheeks of the meadow. queerly
called dandeIions, There are many greenhouse bios
SONS less pleasant tous than these. Moreover, their
passing away Is more spiritual than their hloom-
Nothing can be more airy and beautiful than the
transparent seed globc;a fairy dome of splendid
architecture.
As formaFvgolds, poppies hoIlyhocks, we shall
never have garden without them; both for their
own sake, and for the sake of oldfashoned folks.
who used to love them. Morning glories need no
praising The vine, the leaf. the exquisite vase
formed flower, the delicate and various cOors will
secure it from neglect while taste remains. Grape
blossoms and mignonette do not appeal to the eye,
and if they were selfish no man would care for them.
Yet, because they pour their life oat in fragrance
they are always loved, and, like homely people with
noble hearts, they come to look beautiful. We DO
not need to speak for that universal favorite-the
rose. As flower is the finest stroke of creation,
so the rose is the happiest hit among flowers!
But we must not neglect the blossoms of fruit
trees. What great heart an apple tree must have!
What a generous work it makes of hlossoming-
Not single blossom for each apple that is to be;
but proiusion, prodgality of them. The tree
Is but large bOquet; it gives you twenty times as
much as there is need for and evidently because it
loves to blossom. We will praise this virtuous tree.
Not beautiful il form, one clumpy, cragged, and
rude; but glorious in beauty when eforescent. Nor
is il beauty only at distance. Pluck down
twig and examine as closely as you will; it will bear
the nearest looking. The simplicity and purity of
the white expanded flower, the half open buds slight
ly blushed the little pink-tipped buds unopened,
crowdiug up like rosy children around an elder
brother or sister, Why here is a cluster more beau
tiful than any you can make up artifciay and you
may pick from the whole garden. Wear this fami-
ly of buds for my sake it is all the better for being
common 1 love flower that all may have that
belongs to the whole, and not to a select and ex-
elusive few. Common, fOFsooth. flower cannot
be worn out by much looking at as road is by
much travel
How one eXhales, and feels his childhood coming
back to him. when emerging from the hard and
hateful city Streets he sees orchards and gardens
in sheeted bloom, plumb cherry, pear peach and
apple, waves and pillows of blossoms rolling over
hills and down through the levels. My heart runs
riot. This is kingdom of glory. The bees know
it. The very flies that never seem to be thinking
of anything arc rather sober and solemn here. Such
a sight is equal to sunset; sunset is but bios
soming of the clouds.
We love to fancy that flower Is the point of
transition at which a material thing touches the
immaterial; it is the sentient Vegetable soul We
ascrbe dispositions to it; we treat it as we would
an innocent child. stem or root has no sugges
tion Of life. A leaf advances toward it; and some
leaves are as fine as flowers, and have a grace of
motion seldom had by flowers. But flowers seem
to smile some have sad expression; some are pen
sive and dildent; others again plain honest and up
right, Ike the broad-iaced sun-fowers and the hO-
lyhocks. We speak Of them as laughing, as gay
and coquettiSh, as nOdding and dancing. But no
man of sensibility ever spoke of flower as he would
of fungus, pebble, oraspOnge. They are more