Se ii TxHies Sloral iKieiEiLiiet «tti3 ^ictorttil Morale iKoraijimuori, 
25 
THE BIBLE AND THE FLOWERS. 
On a line summer day, au unexpected shower drove 
two or three little parties into a cottage for temporary 
shelter. A Bible and a bouquet of flowers lay upon 
the table. A shrewd looking man, one of the corn- 
pa n y, ap¬ 
proached the 
table He was 
an infidel. He 
opened the 
Bible, then 
closed it again 
with a smile 
that was min¬ 
gled with de¬ 
rision. H e 
took up the 
bouquet. 
“This suits 
me best,” said 
he, with an 
exultant air, 
for it has no 
mystery ; I 
can under¬ 
stand it. Its 
colors are fair 
and its scent 
delightful.” 
Saying this, 
he pulled a 
flower from 
the bouquet 
and stuck it 
in his bosom. 
A pause suc¬ 
ceeded; but it 
was soon bro¬ 
ken by an old 
gentleman 
whose meek 
and mercy- 
loving face 
was grateful 
to look upon, 
a n d whose 
gray hair en¬ 
titled him to 
respect. H e 
had heard the 
observation of 
the infidel, and 
felt anxious to 
counteract its 
influence. Ad¬ 
vancing to the 
table he took 
up the bou¬ 
quet. 
“How beau - 
leous in His 
gifts,” said he, 
“is the Fa¬ 
ther of mer¬ 
cies ! How 
delicately 
formed are 
these beauti¬ 
ful flowers ! 
how rich are 
their varied 
tints, and how 
sweet is the 
fragrance they 
exhale! But 
shall we fore¬ 
go the joy of 
inhaling their 
fragrance, and 
the delight of 
gazing upon 
their beauty 
because we 
can not ex¬ 
plain the hidden mysteries of their existence? We 
know not how the dry, husky, unsightly seed when 
set in the ground, could start up in such glorious 
forms; we can not tell how it is that from the same 
soil such different stems should spring, and on the 
same flower such varied tints appear; nor know we 
why some of the fairest and sweetest of flowers should 
be thickly pointed with thorns. These things ard 
mysteries; but if we wait till we can comprehend 
them, the flowers will fade away for their life is short. 
i 
I 
11 
ing over them, and. the greater part -which is quite 
plain, and overlook the manifold mercies it proffers 
for our acceptance ? Let us leave, then, all mys¬ 
teries both of nature aud growth, till it shall please 
God to unravel them to our understanding; and in 
* the meantime, 
let us, while 
rejoicing that 
God’s works 
and word both 
show that lie 
is ‘ the won¬ 
derful,’ grater 
fully place the 
glowing beau¬ 
ties of the 
bouquet i n 
our bosoms, 
and the gia- 
cious conso¬ 
lations of the 
Bible in our 
hearts.” 
It 
I 
■ 
SSI* 
■ 
I fil i 
it; 
® e .. c* • « vi 
i 
Speak! 
And why should we not ? ” continued he, putting 
down the bouquet and taking up the Bible, “why 
should we not use the word of God in the same way? 
Mysteries it has, which its Almighty Author alone can 
explain. But shall we waste our short lives in brood- 
devotion on the part of her husband 
been to parties and economically clad 
spised and rejected of men ; again I 
expensively attired, and I had more 
knew what to do with. 
A W o- 
man’s He - 
PENCE OF 
Dress. — For 
myself, I 
should be 
thankful tore- 
turn to the 
habits of our 
grand mothers 
—-buy a bon¬ 
net w h i e h 
would do to 
wear t e n 
years ; have 
three dresses, 
two for every 
day and one 
“ nice,” and 
wear them 
year after year 
till' they wear 
out, without 
alteration; al¬ 
so twisl up my 
hair in the 
plain wad at 
the back of 
my head. I 
should then 
have more 
time for read¬ 
ing and study, 
and more mo¬ 
ney to spend 
in books, and 
traveling, to 
say nothing 
of the unlim¬ 
ited time and 
money for do- 
: »g good. And 
I know of 
very many 
women who 
would be only 
too happy to 
throw aside 
the wearisome 
shackles o f 
fashion. But 
what would 
be the result ? 
With t h e 
maiden, n o 
more beaux ; 
with the wife, 
a cessation of 
I have myself 
and I was de- 
have been more 
beaux than I 
