The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1864-06-03
FIR The Asis and Lntelliaencer.
Low ERs.

'"DaHOdlS, 'f-s'
That come before the swallow .dares, and take
The winds Of March with beauty; violeis, dim,
But sweeter than the breath Of Cythera;
Pale primroses,
That die unmarried bold ox-lips and 49,
The crown imperial; lilies of all kinds,
The hower-de-nce being one" Shakespeare.
One of the most striking characteristics
of Shakspeare's plays, is his beautiful ar.
rangement Of the ornamental parts of the
background, which serves as relief to
the prominent figures he depicts Shak-
speare does not Cypress with the fragrance
of flowers, or weary US with the melody
of sound, but, initiating nature, aud adapt
ing himself to that deiicacy Of taste which
loathes surfcH Of anything, Shakespeare
scatters his flowers judiciously and, in
his own better words, his
ceilings by season seasonal are ~.
To their right praise, and true perfection"
Thus. Duncan, when before Macbeth's cas.
tie, on that fatal visit, is made to notice
the "p!easant seat" of his host, and Ban
ono notices "the tcmple-haunting mart
let hath made here "his pendant bed"
So in "Nlidsummer Nights Dream" ODE.
ron, while busted in givipgs Puck direc.
tons in regard to tormenting "Titania,"
is made to describe the "Queen of the
Fairies" sleeping place, in those exqui-
site lines s..s
~ know bank whereon the wild thyme blows,
Quite over-canoped with lush woodbmle,
With sweet musk-roses and with Byzantine;
Tiers sleeps Tiania." sf
Flowers are so ETHEREAL in their lowell
ness, that the lessons they teach the re-
fleeing beart are of the purest and most
elevating description, leading tho mind to
meditation on the Creator of these fragile
yet beautiful
"Emb,ems of our own great Resurrection,
Emblems of the Bright aud Better Land"
The Apostle, ip one of his Epistles,
commends us to "think on whatsoever
things are lovely;" and our Saviour has
taught us to 'consider the lilies," and as
sures us that Solomon, in all his glory,
was not arrpyed like one of these" a..
| cannot commend too highly that Gus
tom of the Roman Catholic and few of
the Episcopal churches-the adornment
of their churches with flowers, during the
festival of Easter. o ...'-...
1t is interesting q study the history of
flowers, and to read the quaint couceits
that they have suggested to some minds.
lu the perusal Of their history we shall
not be panied by accounts of bloody wars !;
no leaf in their record (save the rival roses
of York and Lancaster is stained with
blood and saddened with crime. .,
The Grecians, who appear to have APP
preciated the beautiful in every form, had
goddess OF flowers, aud the "crocus"
was said by them to have been ''youug
man enamored of the goddess Smilax,"
aud changed by her into this flower
The "byacinth"' also, they said, was made
from the "blood" of ga beautiful boy, be.
loved by Apollo and zephyrus," the lat
ter killing him through jealousy, and the
former "changed his blood into the hya-
ciuth." Shakespeare tells us that the
heartsease was originally phte, but that
Cupid one day missing his mark, the. ar
row fell into this ''nilk white Apwrr"-
"now purple with loves wound"
and ascribes to it the power of "uakipg"
the man or woman upon whose "eyes the
juice is squeezed"
"Madly to dote on the next live creature that it
Sees"
M