Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1869-06-03
The GoId.n Prophet.
BY HENRY wARD BKEcHER.

The first outdoor flower of this year
saw at Peter Henderson's, n. j. 1t was
a "DANDELIoN. All the fields were YET
brown. The buds were unswollrn on
tree or shrub. The frost was scarcely
out of the ground, and on the shade.
sides OF the fence it was yet unthawed.
But there was one dandelion that hae
got cut its leaves and shot up its stem.
and had opened its golden-pleated face
as brightly M If there had been no win
ter, and as il it had never heard of frosti
1t was at the east end of long green
house. Some seed, last summer, waited
by the wind, had struck against the
building, fallen to the earth, been wash
ed in by the rain close to the still had
sprouted and found its root; and now,
sheltered from the north, with direct
and reflected rays of the sun upon it, il
had come forth first of all the volunteers
in the new spring!
Notion of all the Iine things contained
in the whole acre of glass-houses of Mr..
Henderson gave me so much pleasure.
Why should net the flowers within blos-
som early, and finely? They had no win
ter to battle. An artificial shelter and
a stove Eeat created for them q summer
in winter. They could look through the
glass and see the CLASSY storms which
never chilled them. But this solitary
dandelion had NO nursing, no protec-
ton. All winter long it froze or
thawed as the capricious weather chose.
And yet, no sooner did the March sun
begin to shines little warmth upon il
han it sprung up, wide awake, radiant
with new life, and hailed the spring! No
pampersd bantling was this. 1t owed
~ nf y, mn Tn nd ho<d
its way into bloom by its own inherent
hardihood. OF course, thought of the
human dandelisns that 1 had SEEM
While hundreds Of favored children,
schooled and petted, give but tender
and late blossom. now and then some
dandelion child shoots up between the
cracks and crevices Of the stones, and
leads all the rest.
But this was not all that my brave
little dandelion made me think OF. 1t
brought to mind the summers gone, the
meadows, fairly ablaze with their bril-
lance, the golden cups teat on their
slender stems tried to outlook the dan
delions in their own color; the bobolink;
that piebald buffsn of birds, that in mot
ley coat, sang in the meadows his mock
ing descant, made up of a wall and a
fizzle, all the while LETTERING on the
stem of a golden cup, which was not
stiff enough to hold him! Yes; saw
the meadow full OF flowers while look
ed in your honest face, first dandelion
of the spring! / saw the whole summer.
| heard its birds. felt its winds. And
yet, not word did you speak!
God bless and multiply the flowers
that wear open faces and shine forth
early before winter is fairly gone, to
cheer our hearts with prophecies OF
milder days! God bless the men and
women, whose radiant faces drive sad
ness from our hearts, and inspire the
memory of happy days, and kindle the
hope of summer days to come-faces
that have no winter, that carry within
their own brightness. and kindle it al
the first watch of the yesr-faces that
never wither, but like the dandelion,
when the blossom passes. globe forth in
q seed form more fairy like and etheriaI
than was the bloom-beautifu in youth,
aud yet more beautiful in age!