9S6 1 f m^^ ^^m-mfmmmM maamm msM ANNIE W.FRANCHOT THE LIBRARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESENTED BY PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID C />^ot^ -7 "A Garden is a lovesome thing, God wot, Rose plot, fringed pool ferned grot. The veriest School Of peace, and yet the fool Contends that God is not— Not God! In Gardens when the eve is cool? Nay, but I have a sign, 'Tis very sure God walks in mine" A GARDEN PARTY BY ANNIE W. FRANCHOT BUFFALO PETER PAUL AND SON 1914 The Emperor and Empress of the Narcissus Mr. and Mrs. Daffodil The Poet of the Narcissus Mr. Century The entire Lily family Mr. and Mrs. Fern Miss Maiden Hair Fern Mr. Four O'clock Mr. Johnnie Jump-up Mr. Cereus Miss Mari Gold Miss Forget-me-not Miss Lily-of-the-Valley Mr. Love in the Mist Mr. and Mrs. Iris, from Germany Mr. and Mrs. Tulip (Descendents of Darwin; Mr. Jonquil Mrs. Hyacinth Mrs. Salvia Splendens Mr. and Mrs. Anchusa Mr. and Mrs. Stokesia and family (Guests of the Corn-flower family) The Misses Wallflower Miss Emily Henderson Mr. and Mrs. Aquilegia Columbine Mr. and Mrs. Delphinium of England Mr. Hibiscus Mr. Sunflower Mr. and Mrs. Gladioli Miss Heliotrope Mr. and Mrs. Fish Geranium General Grant Geranium Martha Washington Geranium Madame Crozy Canna The Misses Chrysanthemum The American Beauty Roses Miss Climber Rose, called "The Bride of the Prairies" Mr. Cockscomb Mr. Ragged Robin Mrs. Daisy of England Miss Purple Violet of California Mr. and Mrs. Hardy Paeonie Mrs. Phlox The Misses Phlox Drummondii Miss Dahlia Mr. Sweet William The Canterbury Belles The Wild Rose Girls The Jasmine of Florida The Misses Anemone of Japan Mr. Hollyhock Miss Dorothy Perkins Madame Gabriel Luizet Miss Crimson Rambler Mr. Rugosa Rubra and Mrs. Rugosa Alba of Japan Mr. John Hopper Mr. Paul Neyron The Great Magna Charta The Duchess de Caylis Miss Glorie Margottin Mr. Jules Margottin Miss Clotilde Soupert Miss Beauty of Rosemawr Miss Blush Rose General Jacqueminot Miss Lady Slipper Mr. Larkspur The Orchid family Miss Dwarf Nasturtium The Crocii family The Misses Candytufft Sweet Miss Alyssum Miss Fuchsia Miss Mignonette Miss Zinnia Mr. and Mrs. Cosmos r < Will you come to my party? said the Lily to the Rose. 'Twill be the gayest party as everybody knows. So don your pinkest petals and all your pretty clothes For 'twill be the gayest party said the Lily to the Rose. ^ #arben ^artp HE flower garden was all agog" with excitement over the coming event. The Au- ratum Lily family were going to give a garden party on an early June afternoon and evening and all the pretty flowers who had received in- vitations, were nodding their heads with deHghtful anticipation. There was Mr. Sunflower who was a little passe, it must be admitted, but popular still. There was tall Mr. Gladiolis, who natural- ly feared he might be slighted as he had only recently referred Miss Lilium Auratum to "Phyfe's Seven Thousand Words," when she accented the o instead of the i in his name. The Misses Chrysanthemum were coming from the city, so Miss Colum- bine told Madame Crozy Canna, and this 20 ■.t'm^^ PERGOLA— THP] HOME OF MRS. AUEATUM LILY A GARDEN PARTY bit of news althoug-h it added to the pleasureable excitement, made some of the garden belles feel a pang of jealousy, for every one knew how popular the Misses Chrysanthemum had been in New York all the winter. Delicate Miss Helio- trope hoped to attend if the weather kept warm and Miss Rose Geranium would ac- company her. The Fish Geraniums were always in attendance and such splendid, generous, sturdy fellows they were too, especially the eldest, who was named for General Grant. He would accompany Mrs. Martha Washington with her varie- gated family. The exquisite American Beauties and their western cousin, Miss Climber, who was called 'The Pride of the Prairie," are going. Miss Dorothy Perkins and her sister, Mrs. Crimson Rambler, Madame Gabriel Luizet, John Hopper, Paul Neyron and of course that brave old fellow. Gen- eral Jacqueminot will be there, and to add to the girls' excitement the "Champion of the World" of roses has been asked and has accepted. The Duchess de Caylis is 21 LITTLE RAGGED ROBIN AND HIS BROTHER A GARDEN PARTY visiting "Glorie and Jules Margottin" and will add much to the brilliance of the scene as she always wears wonderful red gowns. Clotilde Soupert and her friend, Beauty of Rosemawr, have accepted, and so have the exclusive Orchid family although they had said they thought the invitations were almost too general. The Button family too, with their many bachelor sons, are going, to the delight of Mrs. Pansie who has several daughters "in the market" vulgarly speaking. The eld- est Miss Pansie has been "out" several seasons and strictly entre nous Miss Pansie looks a little faded and quite seedy in a strong light. In Mrs. Pansie's large family there is but one son, little Johnnie Jump-up, and sad to relate, Johnnie has not been a source of pride and comfort to his family, being wild and roving in disposition, small in size and inferior in beauty. To return to the invitations, Mr. Lark- spur and young "Ragged Robin" are going of course— they are always in demand — they dance so well and are in full dress most of the season. That dudish Mr. 24 "In all places, then, and in all seasons, Flowers expand their light and soul like wings Teaching us by most persuasive reasons How akin thev are to human thing^s" A GARDEN PARTY Cockscomb makes one man more, al- though he is so stiff and awkward. Mrs. Daisy with her many pretty daugh- ters, and their fair English cousin hope to attend in their new spring gowns. That sweet EngUsh girl, Miss Purple Violet, and her brother too, Mr. White Violet, who seems so determined to remain single al- though many a pretty flower maiden has smiled her sweetest upon him, have both accepted the invitation. Then there are the Japanese cousins of the Laurels, the Azaleas and Rhododen- drons, and the Rugosas, who have just ar- rived from Japan; of course Mrs. Auratum will have them as she knew them when in Japan. The Poppy girls, too, every one a beauty, especially Miss Escholtzia whose home was in California, but who is now visiting in the East, are asked. Some of these girls are so lanquid and nod their heads so sleepily at times that rumor whispers they sometimes take opium. The Paeonies, Mr. and Mrs. Phlox, Mrs. Dahlia, little Miss Ladyslipper, nicknamed "Cinderella", the large family of Pinks, with 26 A GARDEN PARTY their neighbor sweet Mr. William and those pretty but wild Rose girls, are all coming from the country, while from out of town there are the Canterbury belles who are always asked as they add much to the pleasure and beauty of any gathering. Miss Jasmine and the Anem- one girls are going under the chaperon- age of Mr. and Mrs. Fern who have their daughter, Miss Maiden Hair to introduce this season. Mr. Four O'clock accepted for the eve- ning, he never goes out before sundown. Mrs. Night-blooming Cereus will attend, but not until late in the evening as her beauty can not stand the light of day, al- though she is exquisitely beautiful by gas- light. Of course the Wallflowers will bs there, their sweetness makes them pop- ular but their evasive shyness will make them keep close to their chaperone all the evening. Miss Mari Gold thinks she can do al- most anything without criticism from Mrs. Grundy, so she is going without a chaper- one. Dear little blue-eyed Miss Forget- *'Um mich her die Rosen nicken Senden ihren duft zu mir Wohin mein auge nur thut blicken Ein wunder offenbart sich mir." A GARDEN PARTY me-not whom everybody loves and fair Lily-of-the-Valley are going with Mr. Love-in-the-Mist and old Dame Gossip says the young man is trying to find just where his heart lies, for "How happy could he be with either, w^ere t'other dear charmer away." All the cousins of the Auratums are asked of course— the Yellow Lilies, the Day Lilies, the Iris family, the Daffodils, the Emperor and Empress of Narcissus, Mr. Jonquil, the intellectual Poet Narcissus, the Tulips, the Hyacinth, and the Crocii. There are Miss Zinnia and Miss Candy- tuff t; sweet Miss Mignonette and Miss Alyssum: Mrs. Salvia-Splendens, and Mr. Hibiscus, and the Dwarf Nasturtiums, and many, many more. I will not attempt to give you the whole list, having given the most important guests. The day and the hour so long anticipat- ed at last has come, and the garden is most attractive with its pretty w^alks and fountains, its shaded nooks and corners, and the conservatory at one end. It is brilliantly lighted by fire-flies, and the 30 A GARDEN PARTY golden bells of the Abutilon chime sweet- ly now and again. The weather has been very warm for some time past, quite un- seasonably so and on this day the sun is shining his brightest without once hiding his face. Mrs. Auratum and her daughter, Miss Lilium, are ready and waiting to re- ceive their guests. They are standing near the entrance of the Pergola under the shade of a broad-spreading Palm. The mother's dress is of white satin with rich red em- broidery, while Miss Lilium, so tall and graceful, is wearing a gown of purest white, with dew-drops for jewels. The Lilies are an aristocratic family of high birth and ancient lineage, no member of which had ever been known to either ''toil or spin;" it has been said of them, as you probably know, that "Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these." At last the guests begin to come. Miss Fuchsia (who always insists upon the very latest pronunciation of her name) is the first to arrive with a chaperone who, being both deaf and dumb, is always popular with giddy Miss Fuchsia and her friends. The 32 A GARDEN PARTY young lady is dressed most gaudily in pink skirts and purple paniers. Of the large family of Sweet Peas, Miss Emily Henderson is the only one to come; she is dressed in white with pale green trim- mings; then there is Miss Heliotrope, who always wears shades of purple. Miss Mari Gold came next, gorgeous in bright yellow. One by one the guests arrived until all were present. The Chrysanthemums from New York caused quite a stir and flutter — their modish gowns were the envy of many a country blossom. "So dame and damsel glittered at the feast. Variously gay . . . So dame and damsel cast the simple white, And glowing in all colours, the live grass, Rose-champion, King-cup, Blue-bell, Pop- py, glanced about the revels." The music, furnished by the Bumble- Bee orchestra, is unusually sweet and entrancing. During the afternoon Miss Jennie Wren sang a solo, every note of which was so perfect and sweet that the most critical were enthusiastic over the dainty songstress. Mrs. Honey-Bee fur- 34 ^i.^M BP^ rf ^Iftit^R':- I • LITTLE TOMMY PERIWINKLE A GARDEN PARTY nished the supper, after which the music grew more lively and now the garden is alive with music and dancing. The merriment is at its height, and the musicians seem inspired so merrily they buzz. The garden is a picture to behold. The dress of the men is hardly less gorgeous than that of the women. Even old Mr. Century Plant has blossomed out for this occasion, altho' he is said to be in his hundredth year. He is leading one of the "buds" of the evening, little Miss Blush-Rose out to dance when— Hush ! Hark ! What is this confusion of voices ! All of Mrs. Apple-Blossom's child- ren are fluttering at her feet screaming in terror, "Jack Frost is coming ! Jack Frost is coming" ! ! Oh happy day but sorry night ! The giant Jack Frost, the terror of flower-children, and indeed of their parents and elders too, is bearing down upon the pretty garden, and all are huddled to- gether shivering with cold and trembling with fear. The music ceases and the faces that an hour before were flushed with happy enjoyment, are now pale as 36 A GARDEN PARTY death. All are listening breathlessly to the sound coming every instant nearer and nearer. At last the giant's breath is upon them and all grow cold and weak. Frail Miss Heliotrope is the first to suc- cumb and before anyone can go to her assistance she is lying black and lifeless on the garden path. One after another the Poppy girls droop their nodding heads and fall. All her bags of gold can not support Miss Mari Gold and she soon falls at the feet of Mr. Cosmos who in stooping to lift her, falls prone beside her, never to rise again. The beautiful hostess and her daughter look tearfully upon the heart-breaking scene before them, turn their sad, pale faces to the man in the moon, who is smiling blandly down, not seeming to see their distress, then bow their proud heads to their fate and sink to the ground. Soon the man in the moon can no longer smile on so sad a sight, and he and all the little stars that had twinkled so merrily an hour before, now hide their faces behind a black rain- cloud and weep great tears of rain over the 33 A GARDEN PARTY pretty flower garden. This frightens Jack Frost away for he can never en- dure darkness and rain, but his wicked work is done and nothing can bring life again into the hearts of the frail flower men and women. Only the hardy family of Perennials live to tell the sad story of the visit of Jack Frost and they have handed it down from generation to gener- ation to the Flower Kingdom of to-day. The garden is deserted And all so still I know Jack Frost has entered there, The song of the wren. The hum of the bee, The low wind sighing sadly. The falling leaves, The flowers so fair. All are withered and still In the Garden chill. 40 IW3J6014