Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1854-08-25

LITERARY.
VIGNETTES FROM 4 POETS PORTFOLIO.
GARDEN APOLOGIZE.

~ cry aloud, and cntreat of Him who niadeus 10 tak'
us from tlis dreary place, where We snaii arooP a"'
fade from very WEAKNESS
..NSbnt nv children" replied n flower, already
little wan and wittcrrd. and who seemed to have sonit
experience Of life, "io YOU think OF quitting this sait
retreat to 90 into tho world 4 Believe me; that "hi:l
God does He does well, and if He has planted us III
This Quiet place, i; is because i; is the ;ittest for us
Where is happiness 70 be found, ii not under INC
shadow OF these beautiful trees, whose green thicE
fnliar. protects lis against the chilling winds aI'
sCorchirc heats, and divides above our heads only Il
give Us glimlrscs of the blue sky beyond. And where
pray YOU, can you hope to find n carpet OF moss So
.nIt rs This, or one that SETS on our colorS 50 We'll -
You complain of loneliness; II Is nothing 10 pass 'W'
,iyc;onn day in the company of butterflies, who ar,
a!ynys sportire and joyous, and TO be visited AT hlGh'
by tie merry spirits that hunt these dells-thc eive'
and fairies, that tell us their secrets, and sing us then
swcc, songs? The world, my children, is full OF sllarcs
to- the poor flowers,-happy they who. like ourselves
i've in such n re,rea, as this, into which the breath OF
evil has never entered.
a little gisgle passed from flower L" mower al tue
close Of this long discourse. II is easy TO divine all
,hni was said on the occasion, and with what lrreHt-
renee The pert young flowers listened 10 the sage
COUNSEL, o! their faded sister. Youth Is everywhere
the same. ami headstrung always.
Some. however, the more reasonable amongst theih
the virtuous mint, for instance. the honest plantuIn,
and the constant Experimentation 1t was III a
rather low tonei-that they thought 1t would be better
10 r~chect-that ii was too late--tlme IL 20 To bed, II!
.hort-that il WAS q grave matter 10 decide hastily,
&c. SC. They spoke, indeed, just us people arc
wont to speak when they are a little timid and wish tn
gain time. g.
Blu, the most impatient of the flowers said that ii
was never too la:e 20 10 what YVES right--ihst life WINS
.bort, and the present moment theirs 10 ENJOY and
not to waste, end much more TO the same effect.
Youth, do We said just now. is everywhere the same,
and hcadstrong always.
Ugh" groaned Il TILL nettle to u brambe close at
hsnd-o"I thought that old stick of Il dnrnel would
never come to al end
plague take old people ?" said one Of those yellow
plants that are eaten in salads-"plaSue take old poo
ole they al. tell the same story
As usual, those who talked the loudcst were those
who should have held their Tongues.
During this discussion night came. and with night,
sleep. These two sprcad their wings over the void.
Soon the wood flowers dropped their heads and be-
gan 10 sink into slumbcr. Some. indeed, We're al
ready last asleep. Blu, .acir restless desire, n"rertic-
less, kept watch within them, and issued from the
depths Of their little sorrowins hearts together with
their sweetest perfumes.
The perfume OF towcrs Is their praycr--ile incense
that they offer up TO Heaven.
Tha: evening it rose with more than It's usual fra
GRANGE. and uplifted on the wings of ministering angels
Il reached tho gate OF Heaven. And the prayer,
and the desire that wes interviewer in tho pray
or. pleaded softly and plainiivcly, until at last il
was heard and answered for a voice issued from
the gate OF Heaven, and tloa,cd downward from star
70 itac through the dewy air-duwnward, till 1t came
10 the dark Oil wood, with its twisted branches and
tiTic.., murmuring ieavcs--and downward still, till il
reac...i Tie sheltered nook where lay the LITTLE flow
srs, Graded soft in sluIubcr. There the voice hover
ed, and each flower, in lis dream, heard, rs ii We're, a
sound o! sweet, low music that shaped itself anon in
10 sUCh words NE these:
II have heard Your prayers, o fowers,-be it unto
YOU even as We Will
Then the voice asceudcd up again to the Heaven
gate, aud in an instant all the flowers that had re-
pinei at their destiny We're transplanled, as by MIRA
Gle. into q great and fair garden in the midst OF the
world, and when they woke the next day, anu, after
shaking the dewdrops from their little robes, discor-
.-,l 49, t,h.tr a. r.s tri-b WA rnpiepI flpv vera 40
lost in wonder that they could scarcely credit the good
fortune that had befallcn them.
what n delightful place cried thes', ms soon as
they had recovered from their astonlshment. "What
3 difference between this magnificent garden, glitter
ing With sunshine, and the gloomy black forest We
have lett. Here we can enjoy ourselves at our ease,
display our graccs, and be admired aud beloved by
all
Alas, they knew not, foolish ones, that to be adj
mired is not alwavs 10 be loved.
L; was Il sad sight 10 see them al! lifting up their
head. proudly, and STRIVING 10 rise 10 the height OF
their dreaded riva!S-Striving, but in vain! Provi-
Grncc had made them little iio"crs' ana little mowers
they remained.
To crown their misfortune, they could not COM
plain 10 each other, for they were all separated; Sis
tiers were far from s!stcrs-loverS from those theY
loved--all the old ties were utterly annullcd and bro
ken. The symmetry OF the garden required this
each flower had lis place marked out tor Il; the being
happy was not the qutsiiou-;hc being Il grace ana
an ornament, that was their duty there. And 80, ere
long, tlCN grew very uu--fUu UEu u bliiito
more lonely than :hcy had been in the old wood
They consolcd themselves, however, with the idea
that they would soon be noticed, that their beauty
would be observed and praised and this pleasure
did not seem too dearly purchased by what they had
rc-igncd. They longcd for this time 20 come, and
Were continually preparing Tor it, by setting of their
charms to the best advantage.
But Oh. wretched flowers! even this consideration
failed them they attracted no a;tcntiom-were adj
mirci b. none. and if ;h"y Ind not been enclosed and
protected by the box cdcings, they would even have
been iranpled under foot. The Haunting rose, eI!ib.
lin, lis beauties without reserve or shame; tho coarse
dahIia. hiding its naughty nothinsucss beneath Il robe
Of flaming crimson flowers, whose solo charm:
were their gay colours, these alone were welcomed
with delight, and treated as queens OF the garden, re-
ceivi.ig, rs * were. the homage OF an eager court,
though appearing scarcely 10 care for il.
And, indeed, what figure could they make! The
simple p!lewort, the quaint birds-eyc, the useful sage
the humble primrose, the innocent waterman, the sol
rmn mnniragruvc, the sentimental iorget-nlc-il"t' =
Uoy could they compare with hollyhocl;s and pop
pics, musk roses and cabbage roses, moss roses alo
perpetual roses, hundrcd-catcd roses and royal roses
and the seven thousand nine hundred and seventeen
other varieties OF roscs,-to FAY nothing OF caihelih'
and hydrangeas, and narcisi and sunilowers, and car
naiil ms and gili!owers, and-R host OF others!
An me. an me-! what tears were shed, what sighs
poured out upon the sunshine. nni how the little flow
cs regretted the deep wood-sl!Hdows and the mosI
and the silence and the reposc!
And when :hc gardener came, with his great spade il
his hand. what n irightthev were in They all -lirunb
anu tr,iNb!tu IKE NslCD-lehNts, ana WISHED tncnlsciNts
n hundred feet under ground. But they Escaped
with the fright; death had not yet ovcr;akcn them
II violent, n dreadful dca,h--n death which they coulc
not even conceive. Tor in the woods the flowers dit
softly and quietly, and only when it plcascs Him, wht
Is he Lord of every living thing.
But though they were not We. dead, they were no
far removed from it. The southern sun glarcd fierce
" on them, and, unaccustumcd to receive his rays
excep. through a veil of verdure, they were witherc,
by the heat; and not a single spring ar rivulct wa
there to minister moisture and freshness to thei
.Corched roots.
A little water, indeed. was sprinkled upon then
from fine to time-bu. what watcr,-and even thi
succpv seldom came when it was most needed. Nor
than once they were wen-nigh killed outright by Ut
iog waterel at nm unreasonable time. Then, thcr'
wce not II single blade of grass, or ;uft of moss, any
where near them, and they were compelled 60 strik
their roots into a black and urid soil, rskcd and tor
mented every day, lest some friendly plant should
sprir:, up in 1t uuawares.
t"Ah, let US escape from this ;uacspi;ablc soil" sni,
the .ravest s,rung them one fine morning. Let III
60" Go. alas, howl Once more they were nj
PRAYERS end entreaiieS: each made his separate WOW
I,he vow of the ship~recked,) WINE nc waar.i Il"
the miracle that was to libera;a them from :"at nc
cursed place. Eut miracle there was none. In Vail
Iney wuited-yocd angels are not nlw aysr ready 10 be
come the servants of Tho creatures ni earth.
I%e!S guardian angels csSayeG, nevertheless. To VII
for the poor, exiled flowers 4 restoration 10 their ma
1--WE woods, but no voice made answer 10 Their sup
plicat:on-nc gracious assent was vouchsafed.
S!ncu that time It has happened that wood.foWer
are often iouud IN gardens, and, rs If The maledlctiol
Of heaven still pursued their unfortunate race, III,
poor things never grow either taller or more brnuti
ful; they are still. and will always remain, what the,
were CT The moment they quilted thor woods, and NJ
cultivation caa ever succeed in changing them. Thi.
IS the judgment pronounced agains, chem for ,hei,
vanity and ambition, and thus it was that the sin,
which ruined the first of the human race, ruined ais,
those wild flowers Of the wood.
After tying up my bouquet i'll this fashion, l per
ceived that Il heartscnse with u face like a full moon,
peoping out from between a tuberose and q tiger lily
was about 10 put in q protest, and ~rindicntc, probably
the wonders OF cultivstion-und that 4 double viole,
rufiing with spite, was preparing TO second the same
bat knowing the conceit and perverted taste o
these poor toys Of the gardener, discreetly put my
suscrs to my es, aud left them to console eact