I 
Hi o unci n ci §j| ess. 
SttpOnaita Ofticintllis. Natural Order': Cciryofthyllacecc — Pink Family. 
1 
N dooryards of old-fashioned country houses, and by the 
roadsides throughout the country, this plant may be found 
F in abundance. The place of its nativity is Europe, but it 
has long been naturalized in America. It is about two feet 
high, ot a succulent, herbaceous growth, and nearly allied 
^ , iv to the bunch pinks, though much coarser. The flowers 
bloom in clusters, and are the palest possible shade faltering between 
pink and white. The root is perennial, and inclined to spread and 
become obtrusive. As one means of curtailing its obtrusiveness, its 
seeds, which are very fertile and abundant, should be clipped and de¬ 
stroyed before they ripen. The bruised stalks make a lather in water, 
which quality gives it the name of Soapwort in our vernacular, as well 
as its scientific appellation Saponaria, from the Latin saft>o, soap. 
<$ 
A SUDDEN rush from the stairway, 
A sudden raid from the hall, 
By three doors left unguarded, 
Thev enter mv castle wall. 
InfrtmxuL 
They climb up into my turret, 
O’er the arms and back of my chair; 
If I try to escape, they surround me; 
They seem to be everywhere. 
— Longfellovj. 
I had much rather see 
A crested dragon, or a basilisk; 
Both are less poison to my eves and nature. 
DUT the sound grew into word 
As the speakers drew more near — 
Sweet, forgive me that I heard 
What you wished me not to hear. 
Elizabeth Barrett Browning'. 
—Dry den. 
TOVE knoweth every form of air, 
And ever}' shape of earth. 
And comes unbidden everywhere, 
Like thought’s mysterious birth. 
—A. P. Willis. 
A LADY! In the narrow space 
Between the husband and the wife, 
But nearest him — she showed a face 
With dangers rife. 
53 
—Jean Ingelow. 
