Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1893-12-17
OUR FLORAL EMBLEM.
The cider" Thinks Mint Should
Be the National Flower.
BLOSSOMS ON MEMS NOSES.
A Severe Criticism 81 Mankind-They
sFaked" the Constabie--A Hoary,
Moss Grown Cbesinut.

Moss-Grewn Cbessnut.
What mother Is sweeteT. tenderer. or
unoro sympathetic than Nature?
she shows her bushes IN the russell
foliage % the autumnal forests, and she
sobs through the leafless branches that
crack beneath the weight Of winters
snowA She smiles upon The srecn mea-
do~s when the lark heralds the approach
OF spring. and she IL raaiant when the
summer sun pours down its health-giving
rays upon the droWsy fields. She IS sad,
mournful. merry and hilarious az the
seasons come and -. and vegetation Is
the medium through which SHE speaketh.
The flowers and the plants are her chill
drcn. and % them she tells the story Of
her Joys and soTr0ws. To almost every
land she has assigned one Of her daugh-
ters. To England she has sent the rose,
and 10 bonny Scotland the thistle; to Ire
land the shamrock. and To Ia belle France
the lily. to Germany the corn-fiower. and
to Colombia the camclia. To lovely SNOW
crested Switzerland she has given the
edciwciss. and 90 far-of Japan the stately
chrysanthenuIn she has made America
CLEAN ike sunshine with the golden-rod -
nay she has h0nored almost all lands with
her progeny. Nations. recognizing their
true alma mater and her sweet offspring
have ono 10y one adopted a national
flower. bat America mas been tardy in
the matter. Has she such "a floral emblem
a. 4 g..
tho colcn-roi. but no one seems 20 posi-
lively know. Certainly It is not rccog-
nizcd abroad Rarely DO our poets sing
IS praises. and never DO our banners show
its beauties In switzerland the peasants
soll ana ship tons OF the modest edelweiss
- tourists. bat what foreigner ever lett
America with "a single twig Of our saf-
fron-t.utcd blossom? Not ono. The
golden rod s. practically unknown out
side az our Union.
Something is the matter. We are pa
triots ana We love America, bat we ig-
moro the goilen-rod Can you guess the
roason?-It is because, II this flower ever
becomes the floral emblem Il viii be re-
gardcd as q Usurper
one Of natures other daughters rightly
deserves the pl.re. and in our hearts We
feel &c. This ether child is q modest, fra
grant littlc fowcr.-one that We an cherish
b and houor- one that sends its rcdolcnce
through every ciub-house, and one that
grows In many a dollhouse and couscrva-
1ou. borrower. IL receives recognition
80 The hands Of every foreigner who visits
This Union. When the COmte de Paris
came O. Richmond he I'm in love with
This flower be adorcd 81. and ne took
many samples Of Il away with him Viz
Elnians worship It, and so an others learn
To DO when thcy visit us This modest little
7loWCr-this lawful foral-cmbIcm Of the
Mon 81 known as MINT. 10 may al
WAYS he found near wet places. and is
therefore peculiarly pleasant to dry men.
But Is the mint % flower? All that's
the question: You say It never blooms.
irt runs to seed" You are right. and
SET You are wrong True. f. runs 10
e.,I' nn1 so quite frequently do the
mon Who use iu. but 10 also blossoms
yes blossoms ou the noses Of those self
same men,
Som, say money ah, would that I had
a ton OF it's the root of AN evil. but
Ih1 tectotalcrs aver that julcps are the
cause ~ many earthly troubles Perhaps
The two words are synonymous. With
rome mon money means mint. and per
laps that's the reason the places where
'1in Is manufactured are designated by
The name of the modest little flower. The
dictionaries try 90 make us believe that
fhe entomology of the two words is differ
Cut and from the cold way Worcester
describes th, plant / can see that he
never fastened his fangs on the upside
end Of "a straw, and imbihcd the amber
finted contents OF a julep
.ss
There Is one social club I'm this city
where the click of billiard balls is never
'heard-whcre the air is never laden with
the fragrance of lemon-pcei. mint, and
whiskey cocktails. and where whispered
notes OF gossip are never exchanged. 1t
IS chillrcns club. where little boys
Congregate together In neatly-fur.
pished room. quietly read and talk-that
s., n little boys can do anything quietly
and discuss matters OF interest to tho
lucrile world. OF course, the respective
mammss OF the uTchns supervise this
club but despite their maternal care the
boys occasionally 10 wrong The quar-
ters or the youthful organization are in
the home Of one Of the members, a
chap named Aubn. and recently this lad
got 10 fussing with one OF his little
friends and put him out of the house
When Aubin's mother heard how her
boy had abused his position as host
che sColIcd him wen, and told him that
ne had 10 apologize TO hGs friend Lewis
Tor the offence he had committed. Az
small boys sometimes fail TO do exactly
as their mothers dictate. Aubins pa
likewise added his paternal mandates TO
the order, and so the yOungster marched
"a
DO as he was directed. Here is the way
~ begged pardon: Lewis" said the
child. with his lip drawn ont with a
pout, father told me TO come and apollo
SiLe for putting you out OF my house,
but II you come over there again, Ia
Pat you out another time
This story reminds me OF that hoary,
monumental "chesinut'' about Zetele
which has gone the rounds Of every coun-
try on this globe. There is one man
living far In the back-woods OF Hanover
who has never heard that Andrew Jack
Son was dead. and who still labors in
The darkness Of ignorance about Zetelle.
For his exclusive benefit l shall relate the
incident in the career OF the jOvial old
1'enchman. ON one occasion Zetelle was
induced 20 90 frog-hunting with friend.
who perpetrated diaboucal Joke on the
worthy restaurateur. This friend took
several iron frogs 10 the pond before he
persuaded Zeteile TO accompany him. He
placed the big metallic croakers on a log
and when Ietelle reached the spot he spied
them sitting there as big as life. They
seemed TO say II dare you To shoot -
out the old Freedman accepted the chal-
senge without hesitation. He banged
away, and not ono OF the frogs moved.
Zetelle was amazed, but ne was perse-
sering and he fired again. and again. and
again. until all his ammunition was oX-
hausted. But those frogs were there 10
stay. They never budged, and after each
shot they appeared TO mock the marks
man more and more. Old Zetele nearly
ran crazy 10 find out what was the mat
Ter. ana when his companion finally told
him that he had been made the victim of
practical joke. the Frenchman's rage
knew no bounds. lie swore he would
never forgive his friend. Months glided
by, and the lapse OF time failed 10 soften
we worthy restaurateurs heart. 1t
tooked as II he would always remain hard
ana opduiate, and that nothing could
1aoIlfy HIM. \ change came over the
tmrt OF his dream at last however. for
ore day an acquaintance told him that
,he man who deceived him about the
nuu-frogs was dying-that ere many hours
tae fates would cut the thread OF life.
am MAT the moribund joker besought his
asnily 10 bring Zetelle TO his bed side.
ueafs ulckled down the good old man :
I.ee when he heard this sad news. but
~ mst he swore he. would not 20. He
te'l lhe dying man had played a mean