Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1870-04-02

THE STORY OF A WALLFLOWER.

During these March days have watch
ed with intense interest the blossoming of
plant which l have cultivated from the
seed. In the autumn of 1867 / gathered
some seeds of wallfower plants, growing
close by the ruined walls Of Melrose
Abbey, in Scotland. In the Spring of 1868
sowed that seed in pots. and now have
the first blossom. This plant the cultiva-
ted wallfower of our gardens, is a native
of Switzerland. Thus my plant, by sue
cessive stages, has 1journeyed from the
land of the Alps to the hills of western
Massachusetts, If it had tongue, 1t
could tell how, by strict lineal descent,
it came from the free cantons of Switzer-
land to the gardens of England, then to
the ancient pile of ruins oh the banks Of
the Tweed. Its genealogy is no doubt
older than the Hapsburgs, or William Tell,
and many an old ruined wall in Europe
has been adorned by its ancestors, before
it emigrated to the free air of Berkshire.
The wallaower delights in poor and
rather calcareous soil. Some varieties
grow in wild state upon old ruined walls
in England and Europe, and this, no
doubt, is the origin of its name. The
and half high, with a shrubby stem, .
large bushy head and dark green leaves.
The plant itself, apart from its blossom, is
beautiful The flower has four petals, Of
a beautiful variegated maroon and yellow
with purple calyx. The stamens are six
in number, of whitish color, four larger
than the others. The tour petals of the
blossom spread out like cross, and hence
the wallhower belongs to the crucifer9.
The plant had numerous branches, and on
the top of each branch is a mass of buds.
have watched these buds tor four or five
weeks. The first opened its dark brown
eyes on the first Of March, while the keen
winds of Berkshire were piling up snow
drifts high as the fence in front of our
dwelling.
What train of associations the opening
bud, like an enchanter's wand, called
up! The seed matured beside the most
beautiful ruin in Scotland. The abbey be-
longed to monks Of the Cistercian order,
and on this building they lavished all their
labor and skill. They began about the
year 1926, and labored on till the Refor
nation. The chiseling of each ornament,
within and without, is a study, and the
whole pile, now well-preserved ruin.
inspires one with reverence for the church
of the middle ages. Then, when we en-
ter the ruin, and pass around to its various
monuments, we feel that there is whole
history engraven upon the stones. as well
as an exquisite beauty i'm its architecture.
The heart of the great hero-king, Robert
Bruce, is buried under the altar. He had
desired that Earl Douglas should take tito
the Holy Land, but Douglas could not
carry out the kings desire, and the heart
was brought back to the land which it had
loved so well, and for which it had secured
the blessings of independence. Five hun
dred years after Bruce, another arose
and did almost as much for his country
and the world. The literature created by
Walter Scott may, as great fact. be fifty
placed side by side with the battle uf Ban
nockburn, and the name of Scott must
ever be remembered so long as Melrose
abbey nds,-perhaps as long as the
Tweed murmurs hard by, in that most
beautiful of valleys.
But grand as these associations are.
there is one that value more than all.
Wallflower delights in old-tashioned gar
dens. in neglected places and in poor soil.
1t roots itself in the crevices of old stone
walls. and upon the scanty soil of the
crumbling lime There it raises its bushy
head and spreads its veKety flowers, and
sheds fragrance through the air. Child
hood observes flowers in such situations
more than when placed in the finest gar
dens. The child first learns of the beauty
of Gods world from such plant in some
old-fashioned garden. In maturer years
the reappearance of such plant is a SER
mon itself upon filial piety and Immortality.
Its bright and beautiful face speaks Of old
familiar places and scenes. 1t recalls
many vanished form, and gives it life
again. And day by day, as another bud
opens its fresh and original beauty to the
light, it seems like fresh revelation Of
the Creators wondrous wisdom and good
| naSs Snriudf;eId Rennhlicdn