The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-04-08

divergcnces of disposition will becom
correspondences, recklessness will be
come prudence, frivolity will be turne'
into practically.
. There has been many an aged wild
owed soul who had n carefully-locke'
bureau, and in the bureau a box, and il
the box n folded paper, and in thu
folded paper n half-blown rose, slight
ly fragrant, discolored, CAREFUL,
pressed. She put il there 40 or so year
ago. On the anniversary day of he
wedding she will go to the bureau, sh'
will lift the box. she will unfold thu
paper, and to her eyes will be expoSe'
the half-blown bud, and the memories
of the past will rush upon her, and {
tear will drop upon the flower, and sud
denly il is TRANSPORTED, and there is {
stir in the dust of the anther, and Il
rounds out, and 1t is full of life, and il
begins to tremble In the procession VI
the church aisle, and the dead music OF
n half century ago comes throbbing
through the air, and vanished faces re-
appear, and right hands are joined, and
n manly voice promises: II will, for
better or for worse" and the wedding
march thundcrs salvo of JOY at the
departing crowd, but sigh on that
anniversary day scatters the scene. UNI
der the decp-fetchcd breath the altar,
the flowers, the congratulating groups
| are scattered, and there is nothing left
| but trembling hand holding faded
rosebud, which is put into the paper
10, Int, hn hf,x ha hn m.
| fully placed in the bureau, and with n
| sharp, sudden click of the lock the scene
| is over.
All. my friends, let not the prophecies
| of the flowers on your wedding day be
false prophecies, BE blind to each 9th
| er's faults. Make the most of each 9th
| cr's eXccllencies. Remember the vows,
the ring on the third finger of the left
hand and the benediction of the Gala
| lilies.
If you ask me the question:; what
are flowers good for?" ! answer, they
| are good to honor and comfort the OBJ
| scquics. The worst cash ever made into
| the side of our poor earth is the cash
of the grave. II is so deep, ii is so
cruel il is so incurablc, that il needs
something to cover it up. Flowers for
| the caskct, flowers for the hcarse,
| flowers for the cemetery. What con-
| trast between grave in Il country
churchyard, with the fence broken
| down and the tombstone aSlant and the
| ncighboring cattle browsing amid the
| mullen stalks and the Canada thistleS,
and June morning in Greenwood, the
| wave of roscate bloom rolling to the
| top of the mounds and then breaking
| into foaming crests of white flowers all
around the pillows Of dust. 1t is the
| difference between sleeping under rags
| and under an embroidered blanket. We
want old Mortality with his chiscl to go
| through all the graveyards in Christen-
| dom, and while he carries Il chisel 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 you are mistaken. There are not
so many steamers and trains coming TO
| any living city Us there are conveys
| coming from Heaven to earth, and if
| there be 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 golden-rod and wild flowers in
the forest and on the prairie, where no
human eye ever sees them? lie planted
them there for invisible intellgences
to look at and admire, and when in
visible intclligenccs come to look at
the wild flowers of the woods and the
table lands, will they not make eXcur-
sion and see the flowers which YOU
have planted in affection and remcm-
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
n water lily--nothing rarely expensive,
no insane display, as sometimes at flu
neral rites, where the display takes the
bread from the children's mouths and
the clothes from their backs, but some
thing from the great democracy of
flowers. Rather than imperial cata-
ldlpuc Ol l.uSSllll car, L ASK some one
whom ! may have helped by Gospel
sermon or Christian deed to bring n
sprig of arbutus or handful of China
aStcrs.
1t was left for modern times to spell
respect for the departed and comfort
for the Lying in letters of floral gos-
pei. Pillow of flowers, meaning rest
for the pilgrim who has got to the end
of his journey. Anchor of flowers, sug-
costing the Christian hope which we
must have as an anchor of the soul, sure
and steadfast. Cross of flowers, sig-
costing the tree on which our sins were
slain. If had my way, would cover
up all the dreamlcss slccpers, whether
in golden-handlcd caskct or pine box,
whether n kings mausolcum or pot
ter's field, with radiant or aromatic ar
borescence. The Bible says: "In the
midst of the garden there was n sepul-
cher" | wish that every sepulcher
might be in the midst of n garden.
Ifyou asked me the question: "What
are flowers good for?" Ianswer: "For
religious symbolism" Have you ever