CHAPTER XI 



columbine's glory 



Every girl and boy, I think, has one flower 

 which they care for more than any other. Francis 

 loves the Arbutus best ; my favorite is the same as 

 Napoleon's, the Common Blue Violet; and Sallie 

 cares most for the Rose. Grandmother says that 

 great men also have had favorite flowers ; and that 

 among all the plants Lord Tennyson chose the Ivy, 

 and Solomon preferred Balsam. The President 

 of the United States wears a Carnation in his but- 

 tonhole; and the Emperor of Germany has an 

 Edelweiss. 



Nearly all nations have a flower for an emblem ; 

 and it does seem strange that America should have 

 no especial one called her national flower. Per- 

 haps this is because she is a free country, and there 

 are so many flowers here people cannot agree to 

 like one better than the others. America could 

 not have the Thistle, for that is Scotland's em- 

 blem ; nor the Shamrock which belongs to Ireland. 

 The Lily represents France, and the Peony is the 

 royal flower of China. A Chrysanthemum forms 

 the imperial crest of Japan, and England's flower 

 is the Rose. 



66 



