The people's journal. (Pickens, S.C.) 1891-1903, 1901-03-21

""'itcu 10 Duy, ana pointed out the
| beautiful roses that adorned the front
yard. lie turned away carelessly and
SAID: 81 don't care anything about
them sort OF things. If l buy your
mouse you incident add ary cent Tor
blossoms" The poet says, "The
humblest flower that blooms gives
thought too keep for tears" But there
are folks who care no more for a beau
tlful flower than for an ugly weed.
"A Primrose by the rivers brim
yellow primrose was to him,
And 1t was nothing more"
The poets in all ages have paid tri-
butte to the flowers. One of the most
beautiful poems ever written is the
"Ode 10 the flowers" by Horace
Smith. 1t is among the classics cf old
England.
Hach cup pulpit and each leaf a book.
/" Floral apostles that in dewy splendor
weep without woe and blush without n
crime"
Mrs. Hemans says:
1.-The flowers whisper the all fos ering love
That clothed them into beauty"
Iongfellow says:
"',rhey teach us by persuasive reasons
How akin they are to human things.
"Em blems Of our coming resurrection.
Emb'ems of the bright and better land"
But Mrs. Hemans sings the most
fascinating songs to tlowers-whcn she
tires of o.her subject she takes a rest
Oh flowers:
" Bring ilowers-frcsh tiawers for the bride
to wear,
They were born to blush in her shining
" Bring ilowers-paIe flowers DER the bier
A crown for the brow Of the early dead.
Bring nowcrs to the shrine where we
~, kneel in prayer,
lhey, are natures offering-their place is
there.
"Brinfj deij flowers to the c"p'ivc's longcly
They have tales of the joyous woods to
Shakespeare had great heart for
lioWers, and he knew them like a
botanlst. There ls not a common or
familiar one that he does not bring to
pleasant use in some of his plays. How
pathetically he laments the death of
lmogen
" With fairest tiowers I'll sweoen thy sad
Thou shalt not lack the flowers that's like
Pale primrose--nor the azur'd harebcll
like thy veins--nor the leaf Of eglan-
hot
breath"
There was q long time ago q ballad
about two lovers for whom two flowers
were named, Margaret and Sweet WI
liam. We have margarcts among the
flowers now, and sweet williams are
very common. What became of the
lovers is quantity told in tho old-tlme
verses:
Margaret was buried in the lower
chancel,
And William in the higher;
Out OF her breast there sprang rose
bush,
And out of his a briar.
They grew till they grew to the church
And then they could grow no hipbcr.
And there they tied true lovers knot
Which made all people ADMIRE
AS stern and solemn rs was Moses.
the lawgiver, he was not unmindful of
the beauty of flowers, for when he
planned the first sanctuary that was
set up in the wilderness he directed
that his cunning workmen should orna-
mcnt the golden candlcstlcks with
carvings Of tlowers-open flowers.
When Solomon designed his magnlf-
cent temple the molten brass was orna-
mcntcd with representations of flowers,
and 80 was the cedar carved with
figures of open flowers. The Bible
makes mention OF flowers, but not BY
name, except the lily aud the rose
an. the rose Of Sharon and the lly
Of the valley" Consider the lilies
how they grow. They toll not-.neith-
er do they spin; but Solomon in all his
glory was not arrayed like one Of
thesc.n
l notice IN late New York pnper
that the culture and sale of flowers has
largely increased in that city; that
forty years ago the sale amounted to
only sixty thousand dollars a year, and
that for the year just passed the sale
OF roses alone was nearly six millions,
and that it was not uncommon for a
millionaire to spend ten thousand Gol-
lars for flowers tor single entert;lin-
ment. This is a good sign, and may
help 10 save Sodom--I mean Gotham
from destruction. l wish that all
our public schools would encourage
the pupils to study flowers. There is
little simple botany that even child
can understand, and it will tell them
why the kingly house of the Plantagc-
nets took its name from a fower-the
Scotch broom (planta gcnestha) with
which Henry III had himself scourged
for hcinous crime. And why the
gcranium means crancs-bill and
eglantine n needle and nasturtlum a
nose twistcr, etc. The origin Of the
names of flowers is a funny book tc
me.
These school boys and girls keer
mo pretty busy answering their qucs
tions and doing their perplc cxing sums
and most of them inclosc stamps il
| their lpttpra 7 will nnpcl,Io ~, "a Il,