branches; that plays around the wing of the zephyr as it drinks the breath of the flowers; that 

 lifts tower and turret into tlie rosy light, and bows solemnly under the old trees that wave their 

 giant arms in the tempest, or catch the last sunbeam on their lofty crowns ; — the beauty that 

 spreads its mantle of purple and gold over the face of the evening landscape; that drapes its deep 

 folds through the valley where shadows creep and mixes them with silver mist on the summits, 

 where daylight lingers ; that mirrors itself in the glassy wave where it watches the tirst glimmer 

 of the twilight-star! These have also what painting uses and imitates — color — a variety and 

 blending of features and harmony of parts. ****** 



"Still, if it went no further than to induce the culture of taste and sensibility, if it awakened and 

 stimulated sentiment only, this is a wide step towards moral excellence, and out of which it may 

 grow and flourish. And, in this respect, the culture of flowers has advantages which do not belong 

 to the beautiful in most of the other arts. We may be captivated and absorbed by the beauty of 

 a fine landscape, statue, or picture — by the splendor of a sunset, or the radiance of the moon or 

 star?, and may ftjel the exalting and refining influence of these objects steal over the soul ; but 

 yet all this is temporary and evanescent. The beauty fades from the sky, the landscape is buried 

 in night, the shado'ws steal over the picture, and the impression is gone. There is no link of con- 

 nection between them and us, but the imagination and the memory. Not so with the flower! 

 It does not refine, simply, but it holds us; it not only eleva'es our sensibilities, but it winds itself 

 about oiir heart strings; it employs our daily thoughts — demands our daily care. It implies 

 frailty, and we guard it ; helplessness, and we assist it. We reprove nature if the storm be too 

 rude, and lift the bowed blossoms that it may look again in the eye of the sun. It demands fore- 

 thought, a sense of responsibility, a sleepless and unselfish diligence, while 



' Like wearied infants on Earth's gentle breast, 

 In every nook our little field-flowers resi. 



"Who shall say that this culture, care, and labor, is not conducive to virtue? — is not virtue's 

 self, transferable to humanity when the exigency claims it? And yet it is so beautiful, this voice- 

 les-s commune with the flowers! No harsh sound grates upon the ear, no note of complaining, no 

 murmur of discontent, no petulance, no deception. The glossy leaves only tremble their grati- 

 tude, and the blooming roses blush their psalm of thanksgiving. And then, what silent preachers 

 — how suggestive of brightness, that passes away; ot patience, that waits and watches for the 

 bloom ; of diligence, that watereth when the shower is withheld and the dew^ is gone; of sorrow, 

 from the broken stem and withered leaf; of resignation, for they live yet at the root; of immor- 

 tality, for 



'Flowers bloom again; leaves glad once more the tree; 

 And man, there blooms a second spring for thee.' " 



ELSIE'S LETTERS. 



WoodsifJe, Waukesha, TT;.?., iT?&. 2S,1S55. 

 TiiE Sweet Gum.— In the January number of the Horticulturist for 1854, Mr. Meehan, of Phil- 

 adelphia, introduces a new shade tree to the notice of American Arboriculturists, or rather he has 

 reminded them of a worthy native whom they have forgotten to honor. It is the Liquidambcr 

 s/i/racifl.un. Is it the veritable Sweet Gum I loved when a child many thousand miles hence in 

 my southern home? Yes, it must be. Can its graceful foliage be coaxed to flutter in the lake 

 and praire winds of this stern, far northwest? Ah, I fear not. Would I might ouee more see the 

 light and .shadow of those glossy leaves playing in the soft air of a southern summer morning, feel 

 its corky bark, and crush its leaves between my fingei-s to bring out their fragrance. Could I 

 the pleasant, aromatic gum which exudes from it, and on which we children wer 

 inate in school hours, verily if iis shaft chanced to be not too broad of girth to be embraeec: 



