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"' (5teat^(5rartbain*6 1^6^ 



that great-grandam, even as late as her day, had posies , 

 galore written to her. These however shall not be the only 

 ones. We will for ourselves pen one in her honour. Can 

 you not see the dear old lady, wearing perhaps her cap and 

 her lace mitts, with mischief in her eyes, sedately strolling 

 amongst her pets? ^ 



'^ Geraniums fragrant, white and pinkj 

 Rosemary, memory's surest link, 

 Alyssum sweet and tender. 

 Nasturtiums neat and slender, \ 

 Dahlias, guarding the pool's green brink, 

 Arabis spreading o'er the groimd. 

 Mignonette and phlox abound. 

 Sage and spicy herbs all 'round; 



\ ^/Picture thus on sunny days 

 \ Or at even's shadow, then 



^^V / /Slowly down the bordered ways 

 ^^T I Yonder grandam comes again. 



One cannot think of flowers as hopelessly old-fashioned 

 any more than one can imagine great-grandam as out of 

 place or really behind the times. It is all just as Marcus 

 Aurelius put it when he had the government of Imperial 

 Rome on his shoulders: ' / / \ \ ( ( 



" Grapes are first sour, then ripe, then raisins. These 

 are all no more than bare alterations, not into nothing, 

 \ but into something which does not appear at present." 



/ 1 



