Zbe Social Jf lowers. 101 



roots of law, the same back among the flowers in 

 their unconscious life as in the vaster, higher life of 

 man ? Is it not a powerful confirmation of the faith 

 of him who believes in the unity of nature and the 

 solidarity of all things ? Is not the principle of co- 

 operation pretty well tested, if it is as old as the 

 daisy-commune ? If the tiny flowerets of the Com- 

 positae combine in their blossom-unions, shall not 

 the workman in his trades-union ? If the asters have 

 proved that "in union there is strength," shall we 

 not triumphantly look for a new vindication of the 

 law in the life of the republic ? If the ray-flowers of 

 the sunflower have parted with some of their func- 

 tions for the sake of the community, may we not 

 see the foundation to the kingdom of heaven, the 

 law of self-sacrifice, writ large in the nature of 

 things ? " 



By the time he had reached this point, the dom- 

 inie's congregation had diminished to one ; the rest 

 had stolen away to the croquet-field, or the tennis- 

 court, — anywhere out of earshot. But she, the sol- 

 itary little spinster, remained, and, as if she would 

 show her keen interest and her aptitude for listening 

 to such an extemporary treatise, asked in a casual 

 sort of way, " Doctor, do you believe in evolution ? " 



