Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-10-20
A NATIONAL FLOWER
Mrs. Frank Leslie Discusses the Use
of Blossoms as Political Emblems.
he SUNFLOWER OF THE WEST
Which Gives the Prairies Simmer of
Burning Gold, Declared to Be
Aft EMBLEM FOR THE UNITED STATES.

CORRESPONDENCE OF THE DISPATCH.9
LONDON, October S.-The question o
selecting a national flower was first brought
before the American public last year, at 8
session of the Society of American Florists
in New York; committee was appointed
bv the society to select flower which might
be adopted as the floral emblem of the
American Republic, and one Of the mos
brilliant of newspaper correspondents wa:
detailed to Interview" number of person:
on this subject, and among others myself
and my attention was specially called tC
this matter, and hence this letter.
In the first place, think it futile to at
tempt selecting a flower, unless it is typical
of our country or associated in some way
with our national history. Floral emblems
grow out of history as flowers grow out Of
the soil. The emblems cannot be manu-.
factured without being as absurd as artificial
fowe S.
Floral emblems have played no unim-
portant part in the worlds history. Some
of these are still cherished by the hand that
plucked them; others are faded, together
with the memory of those who wore them;
and some are trampled under foot, while a
rival nosegay haunts it in their place. The
lilies of old France are happily for the
worlds progress laid low, but they bore
themselves OF old proudly enough in many
q well-stricken field. They were, it is true,
beraldic lilies, not unlike artichokes to the
uninitiated eve; but they reigned in honor
till the revolution swept them away, OF
rather adopted their color without their
form. For is not the famous tricolor none
other than the blue and red of the city oi
Paris arms, with the drapeau blanc grated
upon them?
Noteworthy flowers in their day were the
roses of York and Lancaster, blossoms ol
evil scent reeking Of the battlefield and the
headsman's block. The same may be said
OF the giglis of Florence, which was dyed
red with the blood of Guelf and GhibeIline.
The rose of England has long held undis-
puted sway, and grouped around it, are the
apparently incongruous shamrock, and the
thistle of Scotland, which has pointed many
a Joke. The pretty little plant known as
black medick, or nonsuch, does duty as the
green immortal shamrock in London mar
kets; and large quantities are put under re-
QUESTION Tor St. Patrick's Day.
THE BoNNY BROOM.
Probably no flower has had so long and
glorious reign as the yellow broom, ''the
bonnv, bonny BROOM" the memorial flower
OF IA Plsntagenet Kings, who held the
crown of England for more than 800 years.
Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, the husband of
Maud, and ancestor OF the Edwards, Rich
ards, and Henries of England, was the first
to adopt the planta genista, and from the
trivial incident OF his wearing a sprig of it
on his helmet was derived one of the most
honored names in British history.
More recently than any of these, the
modest violet has filed very large space
in the history of the world. Some say the
violet was adopted by the Bonapartes be-
cause il is OF the hue once deemed Imperial
purple. Others allege that the association
of the violet with Imperialism is due to an
ingenious effort of art, which in 1914, con-
ceived the idea OF bunch of violets SO ar
ranged that the shadows, when carefully
examined, were found to present the por-
traits of the First Napoleon and his wife
and son. At any rate, bunch of violets be-
came a sort OF informal token of adhesion
TO the Imperial cause of France; like that
proverbially industrious insect the bee, il is
the badge of Bonapartism, or rather
what = left of that persuasion. Never per-
hap were so many yiolets brought together
in .Is room as in the temporary chapel at
Chiselhurt wherein the last hope of Bona
partist Imperia lizm lay low. There were
summer, when the highest honors were paid
TO the unfortunate youth who ended his life
in an obscure and savage skirmish.
According to some, the myosotis was
Bonaparte's choeen emblem when he es-
capped from Elba. The flower had been
handed about by his partisans, with the
words, ITO return in the spring" And,
faithful to his promise on the 1st of March,
1916, he landed at Antilles, to be received
by the acclamations of his old soldiers,
which were changed by the adhesion OF Ney
into an almost universal cry of ''Vive PEN
pereur" The myosotis, or mouse-ear,
would never have won poetic or political
recognition if some one had not christened
it forget-me-not.
LOVES LAST REQUEST.
Fanny Osgood, some years ago, gave the
following anecdote of the origin of the now
welI-known name: sit is related that a
young couple, who were on the banks of the
Danube, saw one of those lovely pale-blue
flowers, with a yellow eye, floating on the
waters, which seemed ready to carry it
away. The afianced bride admired the
beauty of the flower, and regretted its fatal
destiny. The lover was induced to precipi-
tate himself into the water, where he had
no sooner seized the flower than he sank
into the food, but, making a great effort, he
threw the flower upon the bank, and at the
moment of disappearing forever he ex-
claimed, 'VergeSs mir nichtp since
which time the flower has been emble-
matical, and taken its name from those Ger
man words forget-me-not?' The story of
the origin of the torget-me-not's sentimental
designation may have been in the mind of
the. Princess Marie of Baden that winter
day, when strolling along the banks of the
rrif har
she inveighed against the degeneracy of
modern llants, vowing they were incapa-
bic of emulating the devotion to beauty that
characterized the cavaliers of olden time.
As they fingered on the causeway dykes,
where the Necker joins the Rhine, a sudden
gust Of wind carried away a flower from the
hair Of the Princes and cast it into the
rushing waters.
There" she exclaimed, ''that would be
en opportunity for a cavalier ofthe old DAYS
to show his devotion"
That's a challenge, cousin" retorted
Louis Napoleon, who was a good swimmer
In a second he was battling with the rough
water. He disappeared and re-appeared, to
disappear and re-appear again and again,
but at length reached the shore save and
sound, with his cousins flower in his hand.
''Take 1t, Marie" said he, as he shook him
sell, but never again talk to me of your
cavalier of the olden time"
THE vIoLET's POPULARITY.
1t is at least curious that the modest yio-
let should have become the favorite flower
at the same moment in Paris and in Berlin.
The Emperor Friedrich affected it as his
father did the cornfower, The vases in his
room were kept supplied with violets; the
curtains and carpet were violet colored; the
loyal Berliners wore violets as a token of