CHAPTER XVI 



The Gentlewoman's Art- 

 Arranging Flowers 



In Eastern lands they talk in flowers, 



And they tell in a garland their loves and cares ; 



Each blossom that blooms in their garden bowers, 

 On its leaves a mystic language bears. 



—Percival. 



The above is almost literally true ! You may be 

 surprised to know that the arranging of flowers 

 has not only long been considered an art, but that 

 for centuries it has been closely connected with the 

 whole life of a nation. 



Away back in 1400, a certain ruler of Japan be- 

 came so interested in this fascinating subject that 

 he resigned his throne in order to study that and 

 the other fine arts! One of his friends, — a great 

 painter, — worked out the scientific rules vv^hich are 

 still generally accepted, and the study became the 



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