THE LEGEND OF THE FLOWER-SPIRITS 309 
ished, and twisted it gracefully around her; and as the 
sun-stained flower rested upon the parted amber of her 
ringlets, she exclaimed, “ I will exalt this flower over every 
blossoms of the wild woodland; whatsoever ye plant it 
shall still overtop, until its fragrant head is buried and 
lost amid the green foliage of the trees. All the sweet 
odours of the summer shall float around its feet, and it 
shall receive homage from every flower of the forest.’' 
“Stop, beautiful sister,” said another fair spirit, point- 
ing upwards her white finger, with an arch look, as she 
rose from the high pile of flowers by which she was sur- 
rounded ; “ seest thou that old grey naked rock, which 
stood like a lonely ruin, even amid the silence and dark- 
ness of Chaos? For many a day had I looked upon it 
with an eye of pity as it stood there, grand in its very 
solitariness, majestic in its own desolation, and looking 
noble though bearing the impress of ruin. Hovering 
around it in the early sunbeams of morning, I thought how 
its cold aged bosom might be comforted if I threw but 
a handful of flowers there ; and I guessed aright. Sister, 
look up, and behold how beautifully those wild Wall- 
flowers wave; even the banded bee hath winged his way 
to that dizzy height, allured. by their surpassing sweetness. 
I will not dispute with thee the tall sovereignty over the 
flowers of the forest; but wherever a grey ruin rears, 
though it reaches even to the foot of the low, dark thun- 
der-clouds, there shall the fragrant Wall - flower wave, 
humble, but high over all — the everlasting emblem of 
Fidelity throughout all change.” 
“Nor shall its influence end there,” said the super- 
intending spirit, rising like a tall angel as she spoke, from 
amid her sister-spirits of the flowers. “ I will give it a 
greater power : it shall stand up like a landmark between 
the past and the present; it shall recall images of beauty 
which have faded away, and, throughout unnumbered 
ages, stand like a sage moralist, proclaiming to the chil- 
dren of men how fleeting is all earthly splendour; it shall 
lift the mind to the contemplation of an imperishable 
immortality, and raise the thoughts to another world, 
where beauty decayeth not, and where the blushing cheek 
of Happiness is never touched by the pale finger of sor- 
row. Wherever the Woodbine is seen it shall denote 
