THE 

 OLUMBINE 



ANY years ago I read a legend of a lonely Columbine who 

 lived in the cleft of a rock and who "tossed" a thousand seed 

 and in time a great army of Columbines grew where only 

 one grew before; but they never crowded; there was always 

 room for neighborly ferns. 

 Even as a child I was impressed with this amiable, fair-minded 

 family of Columbines, so beloved by the humming birds. Later 

 while at school certain parts of the life of Leonardo da Vinci were 

 read to my class. "He loved to paint the Acorn and the Colum- 

 bine." I heard not another word our art master read. My mind 

 was groping for the quaint old story of the dear lonely Columbine 

 growing in the cleft of a rock. 



Years and years later I saw the painting "La Colombine" by 

 Leonardo da Vinci. The Columbine spray in the hand of this 

 painted lady was so true in form and charm of those we grow to- 

 day in our modern gardens that ever since the Columbine has been 

 more to me than just a flower. The dear little native Columbine 

 has remained impervious to time and change although Leonardo 



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