Owingsville outlook. [volume] (Owingsville, Ky.) 1879-192?, 1899-04-06


iS over.
Nh. my friends. let not the prophecies
nf the flowers on your wrd'lin" day h"
false prophecies. Ec blind to each 9th
rr'S faults Make the most of zach 9th
cr's r\ccllcncics. Remember the vows,
the ring on the third finger of the left
hand. aud the hcncdirti"u at the calla
lilies.
Ii YOU ash me the question: What
are flowers good for" answer, they
are good To honor and comfort the oh
scuuicS The worst cash ever made into
the side of our poor earth j. the cash
of the grave. II is 80 deep, il is 81
cruel. i, j. 81 inCurablc. that il needs
something To cover il up. Flowers Tor
the caSkct. flowers for the hcarSr,
flowers for the cemetery. What Il con
trast between grave in a country
churchyard. with the fence broken
down AMI the tombstone aSlaut and the
cighhoring cattl" browsing amid the
mullcin stalks and the Canada thistlcs,
and u June morning in Greenwood. the
wave of rOsratr bloom rolling to the
top of the mounds and then breaking
into foamng crrStS Of white flowers all
around the pillows of dust. II is the
iii ference between sleeping under rags
and under an embroidered blanket We
want old Mortality with his chisel to go
through all the gravryardS in ChriStcn-
dom, and while he carrie, "A chisrl in
one hand we want old Mortality To have
some flower seed in the palm of the
other hand.
oh" YOU say. the dead don't know:
it makes no difference To them
think Won are mistaken. There are not
81 many steamers and trains coming To
any living city aS there are conveys
coming from Heaven to earth. and il
there he instantaneous and constant
communication between this world and
the better world. do You not suppose
your departed friends know what YOU
do with their bodies? WHY has God
planted goldcn-rod and wild flowers in
the forest and ON the prairie. where no
human eye ever sees them? lie planted
them there for invisible intclligcnccs
| To look at and admire, and when in
visible intelligenccs come to look at
the wild flowers of the woods and the
table lands. will they not make cNcur-
sion and see the flowers which YOU
have planted in affection and rcmcm-
brance of them?
When ! am dead | would like To- have
handful of yiolcts- ANYONE could
pluck them out of the grass. or some
one could lift from the edge of the pond
Il water lily-nothing rarely expensive.
no insane display. as sometimes ut flu
neral rites. where the display takes the
| bread from the childrcn's mouths and
| the clothes from their backs. but some
thing from the great democracy of
flowers. Rather than imperial cata-
| falquc of Russian ear. | ask some one
whom ! may have helped by Gospel
sermon or Christian deed To bring a
| spriS of arbutus or a handful of China
| astcrs.
Ii was left for modern times To spell
respect for the departed and comfort
| for the living in letters of floral Cos
pei. Pillow of flowers. meaning rest
| for the pilgrim who has got tn the end
of his journey. Anchor of flowers. suc
costing the Christian hope which We
must have as an anchor of the soul. sure
and steadfast. Cross of flowers. sug-
| costing the tree on which our sins were
slain. II had my way, l would cover
' up all the dreamlcss slecpers, whether
IN handled casket or pine box,
neither n kings mausoleum or pot
| ter's field. with radiant or aromatic ar
borescence. The Bible says: In the
midst of the garden there was a sepul-
cher. | wish that every scpulcher
| might be in the midst of "a garden.
Ifyou asked me the question: What
are flowers good for?" answer: For
religious symbolism" Have you ever
studied Scriptural fora? The Bible is
an arboretum. il is a Divine conserva-
tory. il is a hcrbarium of exquisite
beauty. II you want tn illust rate the
| brcvity of the brightest human life you
will quote from job: Man cometh
| forth as n flower and is cut down" Or
You will quote from the psalmist: AS
the flower of the field. so he perishcth:
| the wind passeth over it. and il is gone"
Or you will quote from Isaiah: MI
| flesh is grass. and the godliness thereof
is as the flower of the field" Or Won
will quote from James the apostle; AS
the flower of the grass, so he pasScth
| away" What graphic Bible sym
| bolism.
All the cut flowers will soon be dead
| whatever care you take of them.
Though morning and night you baptize
| them i'm the name of the shower, the
| baptism will not be to them Il saving
ordinance. They have been fatally
wounded with the knife that cut them.
| They are bleeding their life away: they
are dying now. The fragrance in the
air is their departing and ascending
| spirits. Oh. yes. Flowers are almost
human. Botanists tell us that flowers
breathe. they take nourishment, they
eat. they drink. They are sensitive,
| They have their likes and dislikes. They
| sleep. they wake. They live in families.
| They have their ancestors and their de-
scendants. their birth, their burial,
their cradle. their grave. The zephyr
| rocks the one and the storm digs the
| trench for the other. The cowslip must
leave its gold, the lily must leave its
| silver. the rose must leave its diamond
necklace of morning dew. Dust to
dust. So we come up. so we prosper, we
! spread abroad, we die, as the flower
as the flower!
| Change and decay in all around see:
| o Thou who changest un,. sh:d@ with me !,
Flowers also afford mighty symbol
ism of Christ, who compared Himself to
the ancient queen, the lily. and the mod
ern queen. the rose, when He said: II
am the rose of Sharon. and the lily of
| the valley" Redolent like the one
| humble like the other. Like both. APP
propriate for the sad who want sympa-
thizers and for the rejoicing who want
banqueters. lowering over the mar
riage ceremony like wedding bell or
folded like a chalet on the pulseless
heart of the dead. D Christ, let the per-
fume of Thy name he waited all around
| the carth-lily and rose, lily and rose
until the wilderness crimson into gar
| den and the round earth turn into one
great bud of immortal beauty laid
against the warm heart of God. Snatch