Chaucer (in "The Knight's Tale,") describes Emily in her garden as
fairer to be seen
Than is the lily on his stalkie green;
And Dryden, in his modernized version of the old poet, says,
At every turn she made a little stand,
And thrust among the thorns her lily hand
To draw the rose.
Eve's roses were without thorns--
"And without thorn the rose,"[129]
It is pleasant to see flowers plucked by the fairest fingers for some
elegant or worthy purpose, but it is not pleasant to see them wasted.
Some people pluck them wantonly, and then fling them away and litter the
garden walks with them. Some idle coxcombs, vain
Of the nice conduct of a clouded cane,
amuse themselves with switching off their lovely heads. "That's
villainous, and shows a most pitiful ambition in the fool that uses it."
Lander says
And 'tis my wish, and over was my way,
To let all flowers live freely, and so die.
Here is a poetical petitioner against a needless destruction of the
little tenants of the parterre.
Oh, spare my flower, my gentle flower,
The slender creature of a day,
Let it bloom out its little hour,
And pass away.
So soon its fleeting charms must lie
Decayed, unnoticed and o'erthrown,
Oh, hasten not its destiny,
Too like thine own.
Lyte.
Those who pluck flowers needlessly and thoughtlessly should be told that
other people like to see them flourish, and that it is as well for every
one to bear in mind the beautiful remark of Lord Bacon that "the breath
of flowers is far sweeter in the air than in the hand; for in the air it
comes and goes like the warbling of music."
The British portion of this community allow their exile to be much more
dull and dreary than it need be, by neglecting to cultivate their
gardens, and leaving them entirely to the taste and industry of the
malee. I never feel half so much inclined to envy the great men of
this now crowded city the possession of vast but gardenless mansions,
(partly blocked up by those of their neighbours,) as I do to felicitate
the owner of some humbler but more airy and wholesome dwelling in the
suburbs, when the well-sized grounds attached to it have been touched
into beauty by the tasteful hand of a lover of flowers.
But generally speaking my countrymen in most parts of India allow their
grounds to remain in a state which I cannot help characterizing as
disreputable. It is amazing how men or women accustomed to English modes
of life can reconcile themselves to that air of neglect, disorder, and
discomfort which most of their "compounds" here exhibit.
It would afford me peculiar gratification to find this book read with
interest by my Hindu friends, (for whom, chiefly, it has been written,)
and to hear that it has induced some of them to pay more attention to
the ornamental cultivation of their grounds; for it would be difficult
to confer upon them a greater blessing than a taste for the innocent and
elegant pleasures of the FLOWER-GARDEN.
SUPPLEMENT.
SACRED TREES AND SHRUBS OF THE HINDUS.
The following list of the trees and shrubs held sacred by the Hindus is
from the friend who furnished me with the list of Flowers used in Hindu
ceremonies.[130] It was received too late to enable me to include it in
the body of the volume.
AMALAKI (Phyllanthus emblica).--A tree held sacred to Shiva. It has no
flowers, and its leaves are in consequence used in worshipping that
deity as well as Durga, Kali, and others. The natives of Bengal do not
look upon it with any degree of religious veneration, but those of the
Upper Provinces annually worship it on the day of the Shiva Ratri,
which generally falls in the latter end of February or the beginning of
March, and on which all the public offices are closed.
ASWATH-THA (Ficus Religiosa).--It is commonly called by Europeans the
Peepul tree, by which name, it is known to the natives of the Upper
Provinces. The Bhagavat Gita says that Krishna in giving an account of
his power and glory to Arjuna, before the commencement of the celebrated
battle between the Kauravas and Pándavas at Kurukshetra,
identified himself with the Aswath-tha whence the natives consider it
to be a sacred tree.[131]
BILWA OR SREEFUL (Aegle marmelos).--It is the common wood-apple tree,
which is held sacred to Shiva, and its leaves are used in worshipping
him as well as Durga, Kali, and others. The Mahabharat says that when
Shiva at the request of Krishna and the Pandavas undertook the
protection of their camp at Kurukshetra on the night of the last day of
the battle, between them and the sons of Dhritarashtra, Aswathama, a
friend and follower of the latter, took up a Bilwa tree by its roots and
threw it upon the god, who considering it in the light of an offering
made to him, was so much pleased with Aswathama that he allowed him to
enter the camp, where he killed the five sons of the Pandavas and the
whole of the remnants of their army. Other similar stories are also told
of the Bilwa tree to prove its sacredness, but the one I have given
above, will be sufficient to shew in what estimation it is held by the
Hindus.
BAT (Ficus indica).--Is the Indian Banian tree, supposed to be
immortal and coeval with the gods; whence it is venerated as one of
them. It is also supposed to be a male tree, while the Aswath-tha or
Peepul is looked upon as a female, whence the lower orders of the people
plant them side by side and perform the ceremony of matrimony with a
view to connect them as man and wife.[132]
DURVA' (Panicum dactylon).--A grass held to be sacred to Vishnu, who
in his seventh Avatara or incarnation, as Rama, the son of Dasaratha,
king of Oude, assumed the colour of the grass, which is used in all
religious ceremonies of the Hindus. It has medicinal properties.
KA'STA' (Saccharum spontaneum).--It is a large species of grass. In
those ceremonies which the Hindus perform after the death of a person,
or with a view to propitiate the Manes of their ancestors this grass is
used whenever the Kusa is not to be had. When it is in flower, the
natives look upon the circumstance as indicative of the close of the
rains.
KU'SA (Poa cynosuroides).--The grass to which, reference has been made
above. It is used in all ceremonies performed in connection with the
death of a person or having for their object the propitiation of the
Manes of ancestors.
MANSA-SHIJ (Euphorbia ligularia).--This plant is supposed by the
natives of Bengal to be sacred to Mansa, the goddess of snakes, and is
worshipped by them on certain days of the months of June, July, August,
and September, during which those reptiles lay their eggs and breed
their young. The festival of Arandhana, which is more especially
observed by the lower orders of the people, is in honor of the Goddess
Mansa.[133]
NA'RIKELA (Coccos nucifera).--The Cocoanut tree, which is supposed to
possess the attributes of a Brahmin and is therefore held sacred.[134]
NIMBA (Melia azadirachta).--A tree from the trunk of which the idol at
Pooree was manufactured, and which is in consequence identified with the
ribs of Vishnu.[135]
TU'LSI (Ocymum).--The Indian Basil, of which there are several
species, such as the Ram Tulsi (ocymum gratissimum) the Babooye
Tulsi (ocymum pilosum) the Krishna Tulsi (osymum sanctum) and the
common Tulsi (ocymum villosum) all of which possess medicinal
properties, but the two latter are held to be sacred to Vishnu and used
in his worship. The Puranas say that Krishna assumed the form of
Saukasura, and seduced his wife Brinda. When he was discovered he
manifested his extreme regard for her by turning her into the Tulsi
and put the leaves upon his head.[136]