W 1 L D F L O W E R S. 177 



glass will see there something besides itself, and 

 acquire something of a religious right to respect 

 itself, in thinking by how many objects in the 

 creation the bloom of beauty is shared." And 

 a^ain, speaking of " Breakfast in Summer," 

 he says : " Set flowers on your table, a whole 

 nosegay if you can get it, or but two or three, 

 or a single flower, a rose, a pink, nay, a daisy. 

 Bring a few daisies and buttercups, from your 

 last field walk, and keep them alive in a little 

 water; and preserve but a bunch of clover, or 

 a handful of flowering grass, one of the most 

 elegant, as well as cheap, of nature's productions, 

 and you have something on your table that 

 reminds you of the beauty of God's creation, 

 and gives you a link with the poets and sages 

 that have done it most honour. Put but a rose, 

 era lily, or a violet, on your table, and you and 

 Lord Bacon have a custom in common ; for 

 that great and wise man was in the habit of 

 having the flowers in season set upon his 

 table, morning, and, we believe, noon, and 

 night ; that is to say, at all his meals ; for din- 

 ner, in his time, was taken at noon : and why 



