The Portland daily press., 1886-06-01

for the dead Before the lun development
of language communlcatlol tonsilsled m largely
of symbolic expression, and Dy this mode of
snealying some of the most beautiful truths
If nature have always been Illustrated 1t
was no less natural than poetic to call in the
vegetable and floral worlds 70 % represent the
verdict of the ages, against IAe hopeless dOc-
trine of final extinction.
The growth of flowers IN SpIlng indicates
the revival of the fruitful earth, after
period of quiescence, which bears perilous
semblance of death Inc iuea conveying
the Offspring of the earliest thought; and its
susceptibility of enlargement has been made
to express, more or less arDltrarlly, the
ideas of power, dominion. love, sorrow, joy
friendship. hate and almost every human
emotion through the symbolism of the veg
etable world. Flowers IN sculpture form
part of the head-dresse5 OF the Egyptian
sphinxes, while the worship. OF the sacred
bull was largely an ovation OIL these Deautl-
full emblems of devotion.
In the ancient republics OF Greece and
| Rome the crown of honor was formed of
laurel or of olive leaves: The former was
the Daphne of the early Greeks, and among
them was sacred to Apollo. Vlctors in the
Pythian games were crowned with wreath
| of laurel leaves, which thus became the SYM
boil of triumph. Under the mythologic ira
diton, lightning could not strike it, and
hence the Emperor 11berlus, IN later tlmes,
wore a chaplet Of laurel during thunder
| storms. julius Caesar constantly were
laurel wreath. Indicative of dominion; and
Augustus and his successors followed the
example Pliny tells us that laurel was used
as sign of truce, like the Give branch, and
that letters were garnished with it. The
| modern poet laureate is an officer OF the
household of the British sovereign, and the
| office originated from custom of the English
| universities, to present wreath OF laurel
to the new graduate, who thus became
p0eta lauyedtuS
| groves of oak, shut out from the common
| gaze Their symbol was an oak tree with
| the mistletoe growing upon it, the former
representing God and the latter indicative OF
man leaning upon Him for support.
Among the Romans oak leaves formed the
patriots crown; bay leaves the. poets myr-
| tie was the crown of beauty; olive the token
| of peace; ivy the representative OF Bacchus,
| and cypress the emblem of mourning
The Greeks were among the first to intro
duce the free use of flowers as part OF the
| symbolic language of mankind. The Phry-
gian festivals were largely celebrated with
| Them The deity of earth was supposed TO
| sleep during the winter, and in the autumn
| was put to rest with imposing ceremonies.
| Upon the opening of spring he was awaken
ed mid shouts of glee and the strewing OF
flowers. The farfamed mysteries OF Elusls
taught the lesson of mans progress through
life to the perfection beyond the grave, and
! illustrated the temporary nature OF deatn
| through the symbolic expression OF the
| floral world .,
By one poet flowers have been called ''the
blooming alphabet Of creation, and by an
other ''the prophets of Immortality. They
have been largely used as a device OF herald
ry, and as such the feur de us became an
ornament of the crowns of royalty and OF
the dress and armor of the nobility IN such
countries as Germany, Spain and England;
and in the latter the red and the white roses
signalized the warning houses of Lancaster
and of York. The .Jteur de lis became the
national emblem of France, the thistle OF
Scotland, and the shamrock Of Ireland.
The rude warriors of the Middle Ages, be-
coming imbued with the symbolism OF
flowers, carried these emblems from fair
hands through all the years of chivalry. The
aborigines of Mexico annually laid killed
animals, vegetables, and flowers upon the
graves of dead friends, and IN some partstot
that country the custom is still continued.
But the beautiful ceremonies of love and
remembrance now so universally performed
with flowers came to their fullest expansion
through the growth Of the Christian religion.
Branches of palm were thrown III the PAIN
of the Saviour as He entered Jerusalem. The
crucifed Christ received crown of thorns
from His executioners, but flowers streWn
by unseen hands exhaled their fragrance
around the cave wherein His body was lald.
The important feasts of all the churches
are now largely celebrated with flowers.
Every religion that promises renewal OF
life after the sleep upon earth symbollzes Its
faith through the blooming beauties of the
last couch of man there lies but single. step;
and the rose which unf0lded its crimson
petals to the morning air OF the child may, IN
the evening, give place to 1.-The the gentle bl
mortality, ,as it speaks of hope from the grave
of the man.
Men and women of America we have come
with beautiful flowers and eyergreens, culled
by the eager hands of our brothers, ana
woven into speaking forms by the fair fingers
of our sisters, to render the homage due to
patriots, who have died for their country, and
for all mankind. Let that not be considered
an eXtravagant expression. Inc now Silent
soldiers, whose life work is finished, cham
pioned principle toward which the warriors
and armies of the world have been constantly
drifting from the earliest recorded struggles
upon the plain of Shinar.
This principle-the rights of man and the
liberty of the individual-which was planted
with the first blood ever shed IN benaI OF
government, has, like the flower, bloomed
upon the morning air of all the ages 1t has
been the task of royalty to cut it down as a
weed encumbering the grain. Waited by the
wind of destiny, its seed found lodgment
upon the fertile soil of America, where 1T mas
grown and filled the world with its sweet
ness Our brothers, whose memory we hon
or today, gave their lives to perpetrate its
growth and progress to the end OF time:
They comprehended that O dissolution OF
the American Union meant kllling Irost 10
the flower of liberty and a whitening OF the
cherished hope of the race. DID these rev.
cred warriors hesitate in duty through con-
siderations of self? Mol They sprang to
the defense and from out the nettle danger
they plucked the flower safely for their coun-
try and prosperity.
The world will not soon forget the couplet
of Simonides in commemoration of the men
that fell at Thermopl@
stranger, the tidings to the Spartans tell,
That here, obeying their commands, we fell"
1t were most un just to the American sol
oil ait w
honor, to compare them with the band OF
rude men who, twenty-four hundred years
ago, accepted death, not in behalf OF great
principle destined to follow mankind TO the
end but in simple obedience to the Spartan
law, commanding the soldiers to be ylctori-
Gus or to die upon the field.
Leonidas, with his three hundred men,
saw that death for them was an unalteraDle
conclusion. They must die in the contest, or
in flying from their position accept the death
penalty from the hands of the violated law.
They selected death by the Persian spear
| but in dying they sent back the reproach that
they had been sacrificed bycommand OF their
| country.
Was any American soldier inundated up
| on blind law of his country? Not one!
| Every soldier in the Union ranks, whether
| of the regular army or not was, IN the iull-
| est sense, a member Of the great, the lmpeT-
| ishable, the immortal army of American vol
| unteers Those gallant spirits now lie in un-
| timely sepulcher. No more will they res
| Spond to the herce DlaSJ OF Jne Dugle OF inc
| call to arms. But, let us believe that they
are not dead, but sleeping! Look at the pa
| tient caterpillar as he crawls on the ground,
| liable to be crushed by every careless foot
| that passes. He heeds no menace, and turns
| from no danger. Regardless of circumstan-
ces, he treads his daily round, avoided by the
| little child sporting upon the sward. He has
work, earnest work to perform, from which
| he will not be turned, even at the forfeit OF
| his life. Reaching his appointed place, he
ceases even to eat, and begins to spin those
| delicate tibers which, woven into fabrics OF
beauty and utility, contribute to the com
| fort and adornment of a superior race. His
work done, he lies down to the sleep from
which he never wakes in the old form. But
that silent, motionless body is not dead; an
astonshshing metamorphosis is taking
| place. The gross digestive apparatus dwln-
dies away the three pairs of legs, which
served the creature to crawl upon the ground
are exchanged for six pairs suited to differ
ent purpose; the skin is cast; the form is
changed; pair of wings, painted like the
morning flowers, spring out, and presently
the ugly worm that trailed its slow length
through the dust is transformed into the
beautiful butterfly, basking in the bright
sunshine the envy of the child and the ad-
miration of the man! Is there no appeal in
this wonderful and enchanting fact to mans
| highest reason? Does it contain no suggeS-