The sun., 1898-04-10

It was to them true sign of the times
that the promise was, indeed, for Jew
and for Gentle, and that the West with
the East was to be gathered in.
Sad satire, indeed, for us, that Spain,
and the Holy Week with it's symbol, the
Passion Flower, our only contribution to
Christian floral decoration, should be SO
closely associated together.
I Its story is well known, even hack
neyed, and yet eminently suitable at
this time.
AS people, we are very rarely credi-
ted with loving aught but the real, the
practical, the commercial in value, but.
none. the less, we know and feel that the
sentiments and associations of religion
and art are as keenly appreciated and
valued by us as by any. ~.
We keep the fcstivals-s solemn and
joyous-of the Church quite as univer.
sally as does any other nation, and in the
liberal Interpretation and broad practice
of the virtues, humanities and graces OF
Christianity no European country excels
lis.
The Passion Flower tells our very own
story of the crucifixion, the one Western
wild flower of the Church..
Although ranked as flower of South
America, it grows as freely as the honey
suckle or trumpet-vine or; Cherokee rose
in the woods of Florida, and over the
fields and sandy wastes in April and
May it trails and twines so luxuriously
that no carpet could more effetually or
| affact ivnly covnr the prnund
i We hear much and often Of the beauty
of the Bermuda lily fields, but, after all,
they but represent the perfection Of
culture.
Tourists leave Florida too early in the
season to see the perfect beauty which
named it Tand of Flowers"
upon acres of natures thickly- starred
carpet Of purple and white passion flow
ers, with richest green foliage, spiral
thread-like tendrils and perfectly shaped
fruit-"May-pops," full Of sweet, luscious
pulp. grateful and pleasant to thirsty
palate.
With each trunk and bole and waving
branch garlanded in gayest colors, ex.
haling perfume on every breeze, such
living floors and walls and roofs Of
flowers may fitly be called sanctuaries of
nature.
Its Indian name is maracot; and from
the likeness of it's fruit to small pome-
granate it has also been called Grana-
dilla. Mexican Jesuits named it flower
of the five wounds, and only after its ar
rival in Italy, in 1910, did it receive its
now well known name.
Jacomo Bosio, author of well known
treatise OH the Cross Of Calvary, ex-
plotted the flower, but it was Emmanuel
de Villegas, born in Mexico and friar
of the Augustinian Order, who brought
it to Bosios notice.
Other Mexican friars confirmed the
story of the miraculous flower and then
the Dominican friars of Bologna pub
lished drawings and wrote essays de-
scriptive of the wonders of this croee
trionfants of New Spain, which the
Creator clearly had planted there as a
sign that the Indians must be converted.
| Whilst expanding and fading its pecu
liarly beautiful bell like shape is simply,
yet graphically, told by Bosio thus:
"And it may well be that, in His inf
mite wisdom, it pleased Him to create it
thus shut up and protected as though to
indicate that the wonderful mysteries of
the Cross and of His Passion were to re-
main hidden from the heather people of
those countries until the time pre-or-
dained by His Highest Majesty. \
''The upper petals are tawny IN Peru,
but in New Spain they are white, tinged
with rose. The filaments above rescm-
BILE blood-colored fringe, as though sug-
gesting the scourge with which our
hlaccoI nrl frrp,npf~1 Thn all
umn rises in the middle. The nails are
above it; the crown of thorns encircle
the column, and close to the centre OF
the flower from which the column rises
is a portion of yellow color about the
size of a reale, in which are five spots or
stains of the hue of blood, evidently set.
ting forth the five wounds received by
our Lord on the cross.
1.-THE color of the column, the crown
and the nails is clear green. The crown
itself is surrounded by kind Of veil or
or very fine hair of violet color. the fila
ments of which number seventy-two,
answering to the number of thorns with
which, according to tradition, our Lords
crown was set, and the leaves of the
plant, abundant and beautiful, are shaped
like the head of lance or pike, refer
ring no doubt, to that which pierced the
side of our Saviour, whilst they are
marked with round spots, signifying the
thirty pieces OF silver"
Such is the reverent Bosio's descrip-
ton, and as all later writer's have only
produced variations of the same, it is
better to quote from the fountain head.
Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, much inter
ested in this "stupendous flower" of
which all Latin Christendom was talk
ing, obtained plant, and III 1925 (the
year of accession of Charles y, whilst
Protestant England was deeply engrossed
in discussion OF the ritual of the Prayer
Book and the form of Episcopacy, pill
grims to Rome were focking to see the
Passion Flower, messenger from Chris.
tianized lands beyond the sea.
Not till long after the exodus of the
P1ritans was it made familiar to English
eyes, although Parkinson, who first de-
scribed it, assigned it "to that bright
occidental star, Queen Elizabeth, and
named it, in memory of her, the Virgin
Climber
LOCAL DOTS.