The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-11-24

MN rom behind the screen OF til
I bind.
Presently, while going on with hi
work, he began TO hum the notes Q
, q certain air, and soon af:erward be
gan to sing the words, in a voice sof
and gentle, but still loud enough to b
; heard by any one that might be list
ening. The music which he selected
for this performance was a Spanisl
song called THE Song of the Flow
ers.o u was as follows:
"soNG OF TIE FLOWERS"
We arc the children that spring from tn
hidden warmth that peryades 20 nysteriOusl!
ali the realms Of nature, we arc the children o
the dew, We arc the children OF the earth. W,
are tho children Of the air, and above all thing
We are the children Of heaven
The beauty of this last expression
can not be transferred to our Ian.
guage, as il depends upon the fact
that in the original, one and the same
word denotes the "heaven" and "sky,
including in the latter meaning the
influence of the sun and air.
| The song goes on:
"Man sullies rs by his touch, and in his very
love for rs effects our destruction. We cling to
| the earth by thread-our root, which Is our
/ ife-but we raise our arms as high as we c1u
/ toward heaven the sky, which is our home
! For Il Is from heaven the sky and air that we
! receive our soul, nnd TO heaven We render il
/ again. Our souls ls fragrant perfume
1t would seem that there was some
thing III the face and figure of the
stranger, or in his gentlemanly air
! and bearing, or in the evidence of &C
| cOmplishment and taste indicated bv
/ his drawing, or in the sentiment or
the words of the song, or in the voice
aud skill Of the singer, or perhaps in
all combined, that made a favorable
! impression upon the concealed OBJ
server; for when, after having com
plctcd his drawing, and having re-
I maincd for 4 moment surveying il
and comparing it with the model. he
said, as il speaking TO himself, but in
voice sufficiently audible to enable
any listener to hear, "What q pity
ihgt don't know tho Spanish name of
this plant, so that | could put il here
together with the botanical name :"
4 gentle voice from the window re-
piled, at IS called the mudedara,
Sir
The botanical name of the plant
was. il seems, the Hibiscus mutdJi-
Igs. 1t is a shrub which belongs to
the same genus as the althea, so well
known in our gardens, which last is
the Hibiscus syrGcus. The Hibiscus
mutqJ1lis bears a flower which in
form somewhat resembles that of the
allhea, but it is characterized by this
remarkable peculiarity-namely that
after it opens it changes its tints from
white, through various shades of
rosc-pink, to q purple-violet hue be-
fore il fades and dies. la climates
specially favorable it passes through
all these changes i'll the same dav;
and it is from these mutations in the
color Of the flower that the species
derives its name.
But to return 10 our story.
1T is pity that | do not know the
Spanish name" said the artist, in a
musing manner, as he surveyed his
work.
at is called the mudedara, Sir"
said the voice, in reply, coming from
the window. The voice was low and
gentle, and the tones of 1t were
marked with a certain sad and
mOurnful expression.
The traveller turned at once toward
the window, as if mnch surprised.
The bars of the blind were, however,
in such a position that nothing could
be seen. lie said:
Il thank you very much, whoever
YOU may be-" Then, after a moments
pause, he added, please excuse me,
Young lady-or madam, for | do not
know in which form | ought really
to address yOu-but would you be
kind enough to inform me whether
the hibiscus, or the mudedaIa, as you
have designated it, is ever found
growing wild in the valley of Oc-
cocamba? This is the first time that
| have seen the plantin Peru. 1t is
native, | believe, of the East
Indies"
at is n souvenir given me by a
friend" replied the voice-''a friend
who is now" she added, in a falter-
ing manner, "no more"
81 can well understand, then, that
you attach great value to it. But It'll
a tropical plant in its nature, and of
tender constitution. 1t must not be
exposed too much to the winds
which blow sometimes from the cold
mountains around you here"
"And what must do to protect it
from the danger" asked the unseen
lady.
"You must take the necessary pre-
cautions to shelter it from the cold at
night at certain seasons of the year,
and especially from the heavy rains
in winter. If my hard destiny had
not compelled me to roam incessant-
" about the world, but had made it
my lot to live here as your neighbor
in this valley, it would have given
me great pleasure to have aided you
in the work, and we might have sue
ceeded in preserving its life"
"Then you think there is danger
that it will dieG"
Everything that lives is destined
sooner or later to die, my young lady |
or madam. Excuse me for not
knowing how exactly | should ad-
dress you. You have not yet done
me the honor to tell me what am to
call you."
"You may call me sister," was the
reply, after Il moments pause.
Sister is the appeIlation by which !
in Catholic countries nuns and all |
other females devoted TO the service |
of religion are customarily ad-
dressed.
This conversation seems to have
confirmed the impression made upon
the mind of the concealed lady by
what she had at first observed of his
personal appearance and bearing that |
fio 81 t,.opUar rvas n Oentlpman of ra- /!