2 ENGLISH WILD FLOWEBS. 



leaflets to kiss the sun between the harsh prison stones 

 at Fenestrella, to carry a message of truth, of holiness, 

 and of beauty to a maddened and despairing soul; 

 how it spoke, in "language quaint and olden," of mercy 

 and of peace. The clouds of infidelity rolled away 

 before the little messenger of an all-seeing Providence, 

 ' the lesson of the prison flower brought conviction 

 to the heart of one who had denied his Maker. The 

 flowers of the field are the very emblems of trusting 

 and confiding love. You may crush them, and they 

 only reproach you with a sweeter odour. They have 

 ever a smile to welcome you. They speak of gladness 

 to the pure heart, and of purity and trusting faith to 

 the sorrowing and sin-stricken soul. They smilingly 

 and equally greet the peasant and the peer ; they know 

 no distinctions of persons. They bloom alike for the 

 murky court as for the parterre of unlimited luxury. 

 To every true heart they become hallowed messengers 

 from heaven. 



How many a town-dweller has blessed the flowers 

 that blossom so freely in Q-od's garden when some holi- 

 day has called him to the moor ! How many a poor 

 and weary mechanic has wandered to the green hills, 

 to breathe the pure air and renew his communion with 



