H 



7 he West American Scientist. 



THE LOVE OF FLOWERS. 



"As the twig is bent the tree's in- 

 clined," is a trite saying-, the truth 

 of which we sometimes forget. Near- 

 ly three thousand years ago the wis- 

 est of men declared, "Train up a child 

 in the way he should go, and when 

 he is old he will not depart from it." 

 Most persons are born with a natural 

 love for flowers. I never yet saw a 

 toddler whose eyes did not light up 

 with pleasure at the sight of bright 

 blossoms, and whose fingers did not 

 itch to hold in their grasp "the pitty 

 flowers," and small boys show fully 

 as, much liking therefor as their sis- 

 ters. It is considered the proper 

 thing for our girls to wear flowers, 

 to love them and care for them, and 

 so encouraged and trained, the ma- 

 jority ot our girls grow up into flow- 

 er-loving women. On the contrary, 

 in many homes, the boys are made 

 to feel that the love of flowers is 

 "girlish," and trust our modern boy 

 for wanting at all times to be "man- 

 nish!" So our boys smother their 

 natural liking with a forced indiffer- 

 ence, which later, alas! becomes a sec- 

 ond nature. Ninety-nine one-hun- 

 dredths of the men and women who 

 manifest this indifference never had 

 their tastes cultivated in this direc- 

 tion while young. It is freely ad- 

 mitted that there is a refining, ele- 

 vating influence about flowers; why, 

 then, should not parents feel it a duty 

 to encourage the love of the beauti- 

 ful in bud and bloom. — Vicfc s Mag- 

 azine for August. 



THE AUGUST CENTURY. 



It is because "The Anglomani- 

 acs" presents a novel aspect of New 

 York life with uncommon pith and 

 wit that the third part, in the August 

 number of The Coitury, will be prob- 

 ably that portion of the magazine to 

 which most readers will first turn. 

 They will find a crisis approaching 

 in the devotion to Miss Lily Floyd- 

 Curtis of Lord Melrose, and look 

 rather keenly for a solution in the 



concluding installment, in September. 

 In the new chapter of Mrs. Barr's 

 striking novel " Friend Olivia" the 

 heroine sets sail for America with her 

 father, who goes in search of relig- 

 ious freedom and converts. The 

 short story of the number, "The 

 Emancipation of Joseph Peloubet," 

 by John Elliott Curran, introduces a 

 Frenchman who turns his back in 

 disgust on the Second Empire, starts 

 a newspaper in New York which ad- 

 vocates emancipation of the slaves, 

 and collapses, and who then returns 

 to his trade of baking until the break- 

 ing out of the war, when he enlists, 

 and.his ideals are realized and his life 

 is sacrificed. 



Few readers will reach the end of 

 the second paper by Dr. T. H. Mann 

 on his experiences as " A Yankee in 

 Andersonville" without being pro- 

 foundly touched by the pathos of his 

 helpless journey to his home in Bos- 

 ton. The realistic pictures, made 

 from photographs, add to the interest 

 ol the narrative of life in the prison- 

 pens at Andersonville and Florence. 

 Another article bearing briefly on 

 the history of the war, is Miss S. E. 

 Blackwell's statement in " Open Let- 

 ters" of '' The Case of Miss Carroll," 

 whose claims for services to the 

 Union are still unconsidered by Con- 



MORAL RECOVERY. 



He who destroys an evil in his 

 own nature gives a good influence to 

 all time. He who reverses adverse 

 heredity is a benefactor of genera- 

 tions. Over all the terrible facts 

 that science reveals in regard to crime 

 is the antidote of faith and spiritual 

 renewal. And he is indeed a celes- 

 tial knight who changes the current 

 of evil heredity into streams of good, 

 and it is such moral heroism that 

 the new era will recognize and crown. 

 — Hezekiah Bzdterworth in the Chau 

 tauquan for September. 



