The Hot Springs star. (Hot Spings [Hot Springs], Dakota [Dakota Territory, i.e. S.D.]) 1886-189?, 1890-05-09

been Thought that perhaps these insects,
aud not lilies or toads, are Represented r.
the white lag.
It would certainly be difficult for any one
to explain why Florence adopted the ssgiglio
blanco," Prussia the lime, Snxony the mig
nonette, or Ireland the shamrock, unless,
indeed, we arc to accept without question
tho legend of st. Patrick and his tlemonstra-
tion through it Of the mystery Of the Trim
lty. Nor is 1t much easier for any one who
is critical ancnt popular myths to account
for the whi,c lily being the badge Of tho
Gllibcllincs, and the red Of the Gueiphs, any
more than 1t is cxplicable why the Yorkists
took the white rose and the L;lncastrians
the red, or why the hcartsease was the enl-
biem OF the ''violct-crowned" city of Athens.
Again, why was Apollo supposed to love
the laurel and the cornell cherry, Pluto the
cypress and the maiden hair-a moisture.
loving fern. which We may take for grant,
reiiim-Luna the dittany, Ceres the daflo-
dill, Jupiter the oak, Minerva the olive.
Bacchus the vine, and Venus tho myrtle
shaded
Why, again, is tiio Canterbury-bell the
flower OF st. Augustincl Why is tho GRO
Gus the emblem OF st. Valentine-unlcss II
happens to appear about His festival time
the cardaminc Of the Virgin Mary, or tho
ST. John's-wOrt OF the beloved apostlei Mr..
Gommc may, perhaps, hint at these flowers
having been "totems," and possibly the
flowers were actually favorites with those
!, whose cognizancc they became after their
death or were borne on their Shields. as
heraldic emblems uuring life. but still,
tho endless floral badges Of the highland
Cans are left in the regions of airy myth,
we the betony which was apporti0ned to
-: Fsraed as syMhol Of the double share
OF grace with which he ,svas endowed, or
the lily OF st. Thomas -A'Bcckett, or the
convailaria. which, accordtng to hagiolog-
ical myth, sprang up from the blood of the
dragon which 1T. Leonard slew in 4 wood
standing on the site now occupied by the
suburb Of Hastings bearing his name.
\ 1t is scarce " less puxzlinQ to give n rea-
sonable explanation Of why certain flowers
are assigned to, or have. been apbrunrfsted
by, certain individuals. ..
The Napoleonic violet is a case In point.
The modest plant which once made all
Paris fragrant on the Bonapartist fete day
was never an object of concern to the "Iit-
tie Corporal, "and only very credulous peo-
pie now swallow the roniahtic legend Of Ih;s
telling his adherents, when banished to
Elba, that he would sscomc back with the
violcts" The STORY was an invention Of
after ttmcs. :.
Nor has any one to our knowledge gone
into the origin Of the scarlet carnation as
tho chosen flower Of the Stuarts. Jacob
itism-the Jacobitism Of the Prctender and
OF the gallant gentlemen who mounted the
white cockede and lost thsir heads foritheir
palns-ts gov q vanished faith. Yet to
this da, Mysterious haisds yearly deposit
wreaths Of carnations on the tombs Of
Cardinal York and other members Of the
hupless line Of James IL -. +,
Later floral emblems are less difacult to
explain. In truth, except for the problem
which individual tastes must always re-
mnin, there is no great puzzle in the mat
ter. The old Kaiser WnEslm, Of Germany,
who in spite of his military reputation and
general drill sergeantry, was wonder
fully suffused with the Teutonic. senti-
mentality which pervadetl Germany In his
boyhood, was fond Of ths,corn-fiower, and
wherever he went, in his later days at least,
the whole country side blessomed forth in
blue In his honor The old Emperor's de-
votion to the memory of his mother
amounted to s'cult, u and. eo8 his earliest
rccollections Of her was that when she, and
her boys were fugitives from Berlin on the
occasion Of one Of Napoleon's tnvasions. she
rested for q moment by corn-deld, and
amused them by pluclring. the blue corn.
flowers and making them Wreaths ard nose.
gays. ~,
The present Kaiser l. said to affect the
violet, fancy which may clash with that OF
The. Bouapartists, should the adherents Of
the democratic empire" again come to the
front in France. A flower was, Of course.
necessary to the Boulangists, and, with
characteristic instinct for efiect, the par.
tisans Of the .'nationAa and honest 70.
public" have chosen the tarnation. Nevet.
thcless, the origin Of the symbol does nol
matter, except, from historical point oi
view. The mysteries ~ this form Of
heraadry arc generally beyond finding out,
and not infrequently are better left unex.
plored, II the result Of antiquarian search
10 ~ depressing ~ that which aAirms thst
the word shamrock 10 derived from tie
Arabic shsmrookhss . club or shillelah, and
thar this weapon IL, n truth, thetrue badgl
Of the Hibernian race.