NATURE'S VERNAL BEAUTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 2785, 31 July 1907, Page 90

NATURE'S VERNAL BEAUTIES.

Br A. Banker. ' Of all the many an<* varied beauties and attractions of this fair earth of ours the most brilliant and by far the most ornate is without question a well-designed landscape flower garden in mid-springtime. Guarding the entrance are two stately and superb horse-chestnut trees decorated -with, a clustered profusion of handsome cande-labrum-shaped spikes of pink, primrose and white. Farther along the broad walk i» a lofty pair of Siberian crab-apples, the leafage entirely hidden beneath a galaxy of almost pure white flowers, as though transformed into two mighty snowballs. Scattered ftkput the l«wns are numerous floweiing trees And shrubs; an early rhododendron, a great, almost spherical globe of pink-red florntge; some splendid magnolias, every branch a serried enrichment of large vase-shaped, waxlike oxnataxe; some double peaches, a brilliant display of plumed corymbs of rich pink; or a Canadian me&pilus garlanded in waving tassels and sprays of milk-white inflorescence; with many another fair and lovely beauty of the apring. And then the diversely-shaped flower-bedsi a bewildering display of vivid colouring: tulips in gold, end carmine, and pink, and vermilion; grape hyacinths, with their spikes of azure, silver-edged bells; narcissus of varied forma in all shades of primrose, and saffron, and lemon; with rose-coloured k»liroiaa, some early heaths, and numerou othei vernal gems; the two or three tame pink-winged flamingoes otalking about' m apparent admiration of the scene adding to its beauty and interest. And a« a background are -the trees, in all the beauty of their spring leafage; the graceful silver birch with her pendent spray* of lightest green; vwhitebeams, their snowy foliage now bursting forth; the beautiful Acer echwedleri—it has no English name--, a maple or sycamore with Jmost scare* leaves in spring, dull dark green in summer, and again intense scarlet in autumn; on shapely larches, now arrayed in their feathery emerald-hued leafage; while contrasting with them all are the oak and tbm ash still in then- winter nakedness; with, here *nd there a dark, swarthy Scotch fir or other conifer. . And yet in a very short time all this gay beauty will have faded away; the flower-beds wil 1 have lost all their radiant bloom; th« trees -will luto assumed darker hues; and the flowering shrubs will have seen denuded of all their gorgeous emblazonment. But not so with us. For those who, hay« gained an inheritance in the Land- of Glory! by coming to the Saviour of the world for eternal life, and by believing th*t He cued to atone for their sins, will be arrayod in ever-radiant splendour and will shme as the stars for ever and ever. But those wAO refuse or neglect to accept the Gospel c* Christ must be shut out from it all.

— Scott: "Many a man who sees a mot* in his neighbour's eye has a beam in hia own." Mott: "That's natural. It makes » man's whole face beam to discover some* thing wrong about hia neighbour. Mamma: "When that naughty boy, throw stones at you, why didn't you come and tell me, instead of throwing them back at him?" Little N Willie: "What good would it do to tell you? You couldn't hi* the side of a house!" If you should contract.a cold, get rid of it as quickly as' possible, for every cold weakens the lungs, lowers the vitality, and! pa\es the way for more serious diseases^ Chamberlain's Cough Remedy is a prepare tion that can always be depended upon, and not only cures the cold but counteract* any tendency toward pneumonia* For Bftlf every wber«t