MISCELLANEOUS ARTICLES. 433 



THE NATIONAL FLOUE. 



Upon the hill the golden rod, 

 With royal grace in every nod, 

 Salutes the sun, as far away 

 He heralds forth the joyous day. 



Dainty in form, with perfume sweet, 

 Arbutus, in some cool retreat, 

 Expands her many graces rare, 

 And shuns the daylight's ruthless glare. 



A dainty jewel richly set, 

 You find the modest violet ; 

 Within some cool and shady grove 

 It welcomes those who chance to rove. 



But on a crisp and frosty morn, 



Who sees the griddle cake with scorn ? 



Above them all its merits tower, 



The good old-fashioned buckwheat flour. 



— Merchant Traveler. 



SYMBOLISM OF FLOWEES. 



In all ages, and among almost every people, flowers have been 

 adopted as symbols, types and emblems of human combination, affec- 

 tion and loyalty. The reader need scarcely to be reminded of the red 

 and white roses which were the badges of the Lancastrian and York 

 rivals to the English throne. But the symbolism of dowers dates back 

 to periods far older than the time of the War of the Eoses. The 

 ancient nations had their emblematic flowers. The special flower of 

 the Hindoos, for instance, has always been the marigold. The Chinese 

 display, as their national flower, the gorgeous chrysanthemum. The 

 Assyrians for ages proudly wore the water lily. Egyptians delight 

 most of all in the heliotrope ; though the papyrus leaf, used by the 

 ancient Egyptians in place of paper, may also be regarded in a high 

 sense as the symbolic plant of the land of the Nile. 



The Greeks and Eomans were in the habit of distributing the 

 flowers in their luxuriant gardens among their gods and demigods, just. 

 as in yet remoter times the sweet basil and the moon flower were sa- 

 cred to Asiatic deities. In the Roman custom, to Juno was devoted 

 the lily, to Venus the myrtle and rose, to Minerva the olive and the 

 violet, Diana had the dittany, Ceres the poppy, Mars the ash, Bacchus 

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