THE MAGIC OF THE HEATHER. 



over by the eminent Scotsman, Dr. Andrew Carnegie, 

 the favors were orchids (Cattleyas). A member of 

 the Society, Dr. A. M. Stewart, editor of the Scottish 

 American, of Manhattan, had brought with him to the 

 banquet a plentiful supply of Heather, for boutonnieres 

 for those present. At sight of the enchanting little 

 blossom, fingers began to itch, and elbows to crook, 

 one hand reaching out for a sprig of blossoming 

 Heather, the other gradually nearing the costly "but- 

 ton-hole," and the request to "throw away that weed," 

 required no repetition, for as by magic there was a 

 general dethronement of the "aristocrat of the vege- 

 table kingdom," and the blossom that aye shall stand 

 to every Scot as king of flowers supreme, adorned the 

 manly breasts of the manly men to whom auld Scotland 

 is ever dear, who never turn a deaf ear to the cry for 

 help that stern misfortune wrings from Scotia's sons in 

 the land of their adoption. 



To satisfy the longing of the Scot abroad for a 

 plant of his familiar and beloved Heather, a firm in 

 Edinburgh, Scotland, has taken a great interest in the 

 exportation of Heather roots to far-off countries. 

 Consignments have been sent to Canada and to Aus- 

 tralia, packed in Wardian cases. In each case is a 

 plant of White Heather, symbol of "good luck." 



Ah, how true it is that "Memory is a capricious 

 and arbitrary creature. You can never tell what peb- 

 ble she will pick up from the shore of life to keep 

 among her treasures, or what inconspicuous flower of 

 the field she will preserve as the symbol of 'Thoughts 

 that often lie too deep for tears.' " 



