'Tis grand 'neath palace walls to grow; The house is mould'ring stone by stone, The rose of May its pride display'd Long have been dead those ladies gay, But lithe and tall the rose of May With scented flower and leaf pale green, Such rose as it hath ever been; Left like a noble deed to grace, The memory of an ancient race." "The Christian's Library, vol. I., Birds and Flowers." Such a beautiful object as this would be likely to inspire the most unimaginative, therefore, every part of it has been appropriated by our sublimest feelings, and applied to our holy and affectionate devotions. The purple rose is a figure of heartfelt love; a rose, without leaves, is emblematic of there being no hope, but a rose without thorns, gives the receiver a reason to hope everything; to speak" under the rose," means what is told must be kept inviolably a secret. The humble, but odoriferous, violet, was also an emblem of love; the classical reader will perhaps recollect the following play upon the word from Jovianus: "Why dost thou send me violets, my dear? With violets, too violent thou art, To violate, and wound my gentle heart!" The fair lily is an image of holy innocence; faith is repre sented to us in the passion flower; hope beams forth from the evergreens; peace from the olive branch; immortality from the immortelle; the caresses of life are represented by the rosemary; the victory of the spirit, by the palm; modesty, by the blue fragrant violet; compassion, by the peony; friendship, by the ivy; tenderness, by the myrtle; affectionate reminiscence, by the forget me not; honesty and fidelity, by the oak leaf; unassumingness, by the corn flower, (cyané); and the auriculus, "how friendly they look with their child-like eyes ;" the everlasting was expressive of eternity. Even the dispositions of the human soul are expressed by flowers; thus silent grief is portrayed by the weeping-willow; sadness, by the angelica; shuddering, by the aspen; melancholy, by the cypress; desirous of meeting again, by the starwort; the night smelling rocket is a figure of life, as it stands between light and darkness. Thus nature, by these flowers, seems to betoken her sympathy with us; and whom hath she not often more consoled, than heartless and voiceless man were able to do. The Catholics have given the names of several of their festivals to flowers, as they blow during the whole circle of the year; thus joining together botany and catholicity. But the Linnæn system, to a certain extent, is now fast supplanting them. As the monks and friars were the first botanists, this was to be expected. "In the retirement of their secluded abbey gardens, they cultivated the study of flowers, before the systematic naturalists had made science intricate, and also the study of medicine, and the power of simples, ere the art of deleterious drugs and metallic and mineral substances had taken the place of the more simple, and perhaps more efficacious, medicines, compounded in nature's laboratory."-Orthodox Journal. It is impossible to suppose, that any one with the least feeling and imagination, would not adopt these natural beauties as emblems to adorn himself, or place them in situations, expressive of his feelings and affections. "Where nature is, is beauty-she hath beauty for her dower; How magnificent were some of their gardens, where they grew may be conceived by the following beautiful lines of Coleridge: although he is a modern writer, yet the objects his poetic pen so finely describes, were planted by the genius of former times, or his exquisite fancy might have remained mute :: -In this bower have I not marked Much that hath sooth'd me-pale beneath the blaze, Some broad sunny leaf, and look'd to see The shadow of the sunny stem above Dappling its sunshine! and that walnut tree Those fronting elms, and now with blackest mass That nature ne'er deserts the wise and pure: The flowers, with many other articles, were the subjects of their beautiful embroideries, of which they were so eminently skilful. Commerce has greatly added to the number of flowers; but I am not aware it has added one idea to emblematic representations; that must be left to the genius of fancy, and the inspiration of feeling. The floral addition, is equally as curious, interesting, and expressive, and fully as much calculated to awaken our wonder and admiration. But we have not got the whole of nature's collection yet, for, according to Young, "In distant wilds by human eye unseen, She rears her flowers and spreads the velvet green, 199* CHINA. They were very fond of decorating their rooms with China; they had splendid cabinets to hold the smaller pieces. It was first introduced from Italy through the then mercantile Venetians and Genoese, but it came regularly and direct from India, (1631.) King William III. had a fine collection at Kensington Palace. This fancy was carried to an extravagant height in the reign of Queen Anne, after which it declined. At one period of this fancy, artificial flowers were made of this fragile but beautiful material, into which was introduced a very agreeable and appropriate novelty, they were so contrived as to give out the odours of real flowers, which were imitated by perfumery and fumigated pastiles, thus rivalling dame nature, or, as an old poet expresses himself: "It is much to be wished," observes a graphic writer, "that botanists would refrain from giving to plants such extraordinary names as they do, perfect Aristophanic compounds, and insufferable misnomers." There is a modern plant of which the name consists of thirty-three letters, a "Word that should be only said on holidays, When one has nothing else to do!" "Nature, as she beheld it, stood amazed, Till she mistook herself-and so her rival praised." These less costly, but more tasteful articles, soon superseded the mammoth jars which were often set in the corners, or recesses of large rooms, into which were put, as the seasons produced them, the leaves of the sweet briar, blossoms of the black currant bush, rose leaves, violet leaves, dried migrionette flowers, or other odoriferous herbs from the herbary, which were preserved by the addition of a sprinkling of bay salt. These botanical perfumes have been superseded by chemical ones, and hence the oriental scent bottle is now the more common ornamental appendage on the mantel pieces.* OAK, CYPRESS, AND CEDAR CHESTS.-In the most wealthy or noble houses, there was an elaborately sculptured oak chest, for the title deeds, plate, and writings, beautifully ornamented. I once saw one two and a half feet broad, five feet long, and two and three quarters feet deep, on which an artist had been employed as a carver about two years, it was more than three hundred years old; the hinges were far more curious and costly than the three locks, those were poor things; very intricate ones were not wanted, or they might have been influenced by a German adage, "a good lock makes a skilful thief."+ * Those who have the opportunity, would find, burning a handful of cedar shavings, cuttings of cork, or juniper, or birch of a summer evening in their rooms, would not only diffuse a pleasant perfume, but by its promoting a current of air up the chimney, would tend to the prevention of ague and fevers. + The following is a description of a miniature lock mentioned by Hollingshed, 1579, "This yeare, Marke Scaliot a blacksmith, citizen of London, made one hanging lock of iron, steele, and brasse, of eleven pieces, a pipe. They had puzzle locks to open by adjusting mottoes, alluded to in one of Beaumont and Fletcher's plays: "A cap case for your linen and your plate, * With a strange lock that opens with-Amen!" CANARY BIRDS.-The enlivening Canary birds were but little known, although they were reared in Italy from the fourteenth to the sixteenth century. They were introduced into England by the Germans, who have for centuries stood high as managers of singing birds, they were often called the sugar bird. Some beautiful etchings, by Marculfus Lamon, of the Hague, 1653, shows the London cries, in which are some Germans crying, "buy a singing bird." For the information of those who take delight in keeping these interesting little warblers, they should have a variety of food; larks and linnets, and the Canary, is of the linnet specie: and have been known to have their plumage changed to black when fed entirely on hemp-seed.† GOLD AND SILVER FISH.-The gold and silver fish were also little known; these mute but lively creatures were first brought from China by the mercantile Dutch, 1691, they were not generally known until about 1728. It appears they will live sixty years, and have been found to thrive and breed fast in the warm water tanks and reservoirs connected with steamengines. Although they show themselves off to much greater advantage, they are best not kept in glass vessels, nor have perfectly clear water; river water is best. They will live and thrive upon water alone. "Rondelet kept a silver fish for three years, and at the end of that period, it had grown as large as the glass globe that contained it." SUN DIALS.-Before watches and clocks came into use, our utillitarian ancestors had sun-dials placed upon churches,§ entrance gateways, and porches, which were often elegantly and appropriately ornamented with mottoes, and heraldric and symbolic devices. For a motto, they often sculptured "TEMPUS FUGIT," (time flies swiftly.) On one at the Hall of the Templars keie filed three square, with a pot upon the shaft and the bow with two esses, all cleane wrought, which weied but one graine of gold or wheat corne, a thing almost incredible, but that myselfe (amongst manie others) have seene it, and, therefore, must affirme it to be true." * Bellon, in 1555, described all birds then known, but does not mention them. + Lawrence's "Lectures." Good's "Book of Nature." There is a Saxon one, very curious, still remaining on the old church at Bishopton, in Sussex. |