OLD-FASHIONED FLOWERS 



Gillyflower, the Mallow, the Rose, 

 still almost a Sweetbriar, and the great 

 silver Lily, the spontaneous finery of 

 our woods and of our snow-frightened, 

 wind-frightened fields these alone 

 smiled upon our forefathers, who, for 

 that matter, were unaware of their 

 poverty. Man had not yet learnt to 

 look around him, to enjoy the life of 

 nature. Then came the Renascence, the 

 great voyages, the discovery and in- 

 vasion of the sunlight. All the flowers 

 of the world, the successful efforts, 

 the deep, inmost beauties, the joyful 

 thoughts and wishes of the planet, rose 

 up to us, borne on a shaft of light that, 

 in spite of its heavenly wonder, issued 

 from our own earth. Man ventured 

 C 353 



