MOSSES. 27 
when fully perceived, to every thoughtful mind, a 
purer and more subtle joy than is communicated 
even by the rose or the lily. Regarded ex masse, 
what can be lovelier than a closely-shaven mossy 
lawn, over which the golden sun-beams, and the 
light-footed shadows of the fleecy clouds overhead, 
chase each other throughout the whole summer 
day in little rippling waves, like smiles and 
thoughts over a human face! What can be 
pleasanter than the soft yielding carpets of green- 
est verdure and weirdest patterns, woven by these 
tiny plants on the floor of shadowy old forests, 
“stealing all noises from the foot,” and imbuing 
the mind with reverence and awe in the pillared 
aisles of Nature’s cathedrals! What can be more 
picturesque than the varied hues which mosses 
impart to the ivied ruin, the grey old wall, or the 
decaying tree; or what object can be more 
romantic than a fantastic rock crowned with pines 
or birches, with mosses hanging down in waving 
clusters from its edge, and forming beautiful fes- 
toons like draperies of green and brown silk over 
the pillars of some oriental palace! Truly these 
little plants originated in a high ideal of creative 
wisdom and love. 
Mosses belong to the foliaceous or highest divi- 
sion of flowerless plants. Although consisting en- 
tirely of cellular tissue, and increasing by simple 
