The Defence of Idleness. 227 



reason for lingering here, — for idling away an 

 hour. Can flowers bloom without whispering to 

 the world facts worth knowing ? It is no fault of 

 theirs if their bright sayings fall forever on deaf 

 ears. Mankind loves color. His eye craves it as 

 his stomach craves food. We carry it into our 

 houses, dreading the depressing effect of cold gray 

 walls, but how sadly we use it ! If an hour's idle- 

 ness brings us nearer to Nature in such a matter 

 as house-decoration, we have done our duty to 

 the world as well as to ourselves. Why flowers, 

 that Nature stamps as monstrosities, should replace 

 the gems of her handiwork on the walls of our 

 houses is not readily explained. Here at the pool 

 is scarlet and white, and every imaginable shade 

 of purple, green, and brown, even polished and 

 old gold; a dozen blooming plants in the scope 

 of a single glance, and every one a masterpiece 

 of grace as well as color ; but where upon wall- 

 paper will we find them ? Such a scene as this 

 way-side pool haunts us. It is carried as a flitting 

 ghost of landscape to the workshop, and even so 

 makes labor less onerous, and we are well re- 

 warded for that idling at which the unthinking 



