The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-01-18
THE MISSION OF THE
FLOWERS
BY. F. s. ROLLINS,

BY. F. s. ROLLINS.
Henry Ward Beecher once said, "a
rose is the most beautiful thing God
ever made and forgot to give a SOUL
And yet If there be no soul in the
flower, it speaks to the soul Of man,
and in a language which he can I'M
derstand, for it is the language Of the
heart. - ..sa ~ @t
Back to nature in these days is
not a reversion to savagery, but a re-
assertion in mon Of those primal in
stincts which ally him with all that
cities, the soul cries out for the solitude
Of the forest, the sweep of the prairie,
the still majesty of the mountain, the
balm Of the sea, the music of bird and
brook and the smile of the flower.
The sight of a violet or a buttercup
awakens a train of dear memories of
the old free days with bare feet to the
earth and sthe white-fiecked canopy
above. Away" says the soul, with
all the articles and conventions of
your, frilled and :bejeweled society,
and let me enjoy once more the SIM
plicity and sincerity of nature" What
prisoner of the town has not at the
sight of wild violet. longed to flee
from clatter of streets and clamOr of
men, from choking smoke and flare
Of lamps out into Gods world, where,
under the blue skies and the glorious
sunlight, amid green fields and dark
ening wood, quivering nerves and
weary brain may rest?
The mission of flowers is distinctly
moral and ethical. The flower takes
us back to nature-to natures God
and ours. The very flowers Of the
field testify that God loves the beauti-
full, and that beauty of color and form
are universal characteristics of his
Handiwork. The desert and the noun
blossom smiles for him. * LIDO met be-
lieve that :
Full many a flower is born to blush un-
And waste it's fragrance in the desert
RE air. -.....: - Il S4.-.S
1t blooms for God. He sees it and
rejoices in it: Therefore it is not
wasted. If God loves beauty, then
beauty is not divorced from goodness.
Indeed, the scriptures cali upon us to
"Worship God in the beauty Of holi-
ness" The native beauty of the
flower, from the field violet to the
splendid magnolia, is a revelation Of
God. 1t manifests his own holiness
and wisdom. Beauty is an attribute
Of the moral, as we'll as of the physical
order. -.-.
The softening and refining influ-
,ence of flowers is universally recog-
| nized. A vicious criminal has been
| rendered tractable and trusty by car
| ing for little blooming plant that
was sent to him. To love flowers is a
| hopeful token in the most hardened
evil doer. 1t shows that he is still
| responsive to the influence of beauty,
innocence and sweetness, and is yet
| capable of good impulses. The sight
of a modest flower has often awakened
tender memories, stirred a slumber-
ing conscience and stirred a command
| ing impulse toward a better life. The
| love of flowers by the lowly races
is significant of their moral capacity.
Christian missionaries have effectual-
ly turned the culture of flowers to
moral training. Any race, however
savage, that loves the beauty and
senses the language of flowers shows
capacity for development and civiliza-
ton. The humber classes among the
great civilized nations love flowers.
The lowly homes of the peasants OF
Europe and of the black folk of our
own land are adorned with flowers
They find solace and JOY in tending
a Towering plant. Upon it they be
stow a genuine affection, which the
| simple flower seems to reciprocate
I5once asked a humble woman whose
! plants and flowers were luxurious and
! full of blooms, why her flowers were
superior to those of her neighbors
She replied: II don't know, unless il
is that you have to love them" The
blessings which flowers bring to the
| Wretched and neglected masses ir
great cities is beyond computation
Flower Missions" have assumed large
proportions. By such means CLEANS
of Gods beautiful world are trans,
ported from field and garden to the
attics and novels of the poor, who
are thus given new heart, fresh hope
and an upward lift. Both givers ant
receivers are blessed in this mutua
contact thru the language of thu
flowers. s
The flowers speak to us Of a crea
tors. love and care. The great teache
said: Consider the lilies Of the field
how they grow; they toll not, neithe
do they spin: Yet I say unto you tina
even Solomon in all his glory was no
arrayed like one of these. If-God dot
so clotne the grass of the field, shall
he not much more clothe you, o y
of little faith?'' A man defeated an,
disheartened came upon a sprig o
SALIVA in full bloom late in autumn
and he said: How bright and hopeful
Is this glorious flower even unde
ter! Why should I give up to dis
couragement? With new heart h
returned to his task. Travellers tel
us that flowers bloom on the sides o
Vesuvius almost up to the crater
brim. The Hartman expedition t
Alaska found beautiful flowers grow
ing by the very lip Of the glacier. TIL
!; pathos of the wornout, neglecte
farms of New England is PARTIAL
hidden because God has sprinkle
them with daisies and buttercups
What does the blooming of flowers L
such unexpected places teach but tina
God is present everywhere, and in tn
severest trials will show his care an
give Joy for sadness? He who cover
the scars Of the earth with a carpe
Of beauty will also heal and cover tn