THE WORK OF FLOWERS 131 



ready; they have had their time of preparation; and 

 that makes all the difference. 



In this, as in other respects, plants vary greatly. 

 Some seeds take much longer than others in preparing. 

 Some are more readily affected by warmth. Some will 

 spring up at almost any time, like Mustard and Cress, 

 under certain conditions. And the above is true of 

 bulbs, as well as of seeds. 



Spring is really a time of Resurrection. 



Each bare and lifeless tree, which in the autumn 

 "seemed to have died," ■•■ has only been asleep; and 

 now, with the coming of spring sunshine, it leaps into a 

 new and glorious life. Each bulb which " seemed to have 

 died " and was buried in the earth, forces its flowers 

 upward to a fresh and lovely existence. Each little 

 seed, which looked so cold and lifeless, is found in some 

 new form of beauty and fragrance, while still remaining 

 itself. The individuality is unchanged. If that seed 

 had never been sown, that plant would never have 

 grown. 



Nature holds for us many symbols, many parables, if 

 only we will read them, as surely we are meant to do ; 

 and none more striking than this. Perhaps the most 

 wonderful part of it is that, while so buried, while still 

 so seemingly " dead," the bulbs and the seeds are actually 

 at work, fashioning their own resurrection bodies in 

 readiness for the coming springtide. May we not find 

 here a suggestion, if not an actual prophecy, full of 

 promise for our own future, and for the future of those 

 who still belong to us, though out of sight — who are 

 " not lost, but gone before " ? 



1 Wisdom of Solomon, iii, 2. 

 K 



