Excerpt
BY MARGARET EYTINGE.
Sunshine on the meadow,Sunshine on the sea;Green buds on the rose-bush,Blossoms on the tree.Two wee children singingIn a rapt delight—One as fair as morning,One as dark as night.Hymn-book held between themWith the greatest care,Though they can not read a wordThat is printed there."Jesus, Saviour, meek and mild,Friend of ev'ry little child,Once a child Thyself, we prayThou wilt guard us day by day;For such helpless things are we,We can only sing to Thee!"Standing in the doorway,Arnak smiles to hearBird-like voices blendingSweet and loud and clear."'Pears to me de angelsMus' be lis'nin' too—Lis'nin' an' a-lookin'From de hebbens blue;Lookin' an' a-smilin'At de pretty sight;An' in dar eyes—bress de Lord!—Bofe dem chillun's white."
EASTER FLOWERS. BY F. E. FRYATT.
"Come, Nell, and you too, Harry. I have planned a delightful trip for you, and we must be off bright and early."
"Where—where, Miss Eleanor?" cried both children together.
"To the large greenhouses just beyond the city line. You remember the minister said on Sunday, 'Let every person bring flowers, if but a single lily or a rose, to make God's house beautiful on Easter-day'? There are millions of flowers in blossom now at the greenhouses, and I wish you to see them, and learn how the florists make them bloom out of season."
"I hope you will tell us something about it," said Harry, as we rattled swiftly over the rails in the steam-dummy; "that is, when we get out of this noisy old trap."
In a few minutes we alighted at the city line, and Harry, taking my arm, declared himself ready for more "flower talk."
"Suppose," said I, "that a florist wishes to have several thousand plants in bloom for Easter, does he allow them plenty of water and sunshine, and opportunity to bloom several months in advance of the day? No; he stows them all away to rest, or sleep, as he calls it, for weeks and weeks, in cool, dry, shady places, some on shelves, some in sand, and some in pots 'in cool houses.'
"After a time the bulbs are taken out of the sand, and placed in earth, and with the other plants are allowed to enjoy a little warmth and sunshine.
"The rose-bushes are pruned, bound, and tied in trim forms, and placed in rows, and though destitute of foliage, look so healthy and neat one can not but admire them. In a week or two, as if by magic, thousands of buds are swelling and bursting into leaf on every stem.
"Five weeks ago I visited the greenhouses we are now going to, and as I stood in the Easter 'roseries,' I thought it must be quite delightful to be a young rose in training for Easter, the sunshine was so warm and golden, the air so soft and dewy sweet. Every bush showed signs of coming buds—very, very tiny, but they were there. The bulb houses were stocked with rows and rows of cherry-red pots filled with rich brown mould; in some the point of a tulip or hyacinth leaf peered up green and bright, in others there were already brave crowns of strong leaves.
"'Ah,' thought I, 'these will surely please the florist's eye;' but I assure you they had a very different effect, for he looked at them with a frown that said, plainer than words, 'My brave young folks, wouldn't you like to blossom before Easter, and spoil my fine show for me?...