WILD FLOWERS. 
177 
glass will see there something besides itself, and 
acquire something of a religious right to respect 
itself, in thinking by how many objects in the 
creation the bloom of beauty is shared.” And 
again, speaking of “ Breakfast in Summer,” 
he says :— u Set flowers on your table, a whole 
nosegay if you can get it,—or but two or three,—- 
or a single flower,—a rose, a pink, nay, a daisy. 
Bring a few daisies and buttercups, from your 
last field walk, and keep them alive in a little 
water ; and preserve but a bunch of clover, or 
a handful of flowering grass, one of the most 
elegant, as well as cheap, of nature’s productions, 
—and you have something on your table that 
reminds you of the beauty of God’s creation, 
and gives you a link with the poets and sages 
that have done it most honour. Put but a rose, 
or a lily, or a violet, on your table, and you and 
Lord Bacon have a custom in common ; for 
that great and wise man was in the habit of 
having the flowers in season set upon his 
table,—morning, and, we believe, noon, and 
night; that is to say, at all his meals ; for din¬ 
ner, in his time, was taken at noon : and why 
