Page:Sea and River-side Rambles in Victoria.djvu/138

119 Objects of Design," which lately appeared in the "Art Journal:"—Bright are the flowers of the earth, the first and choicest ornaments; pure, simple, and holy, their charms can ne'er decay, though familiarity and inconsistency may vulgarise, and innumerable misappropriations make us sometimes wish for the contrast that other less showy objects would afford. While the fields are radiant with their beauty, and the gentle zephyrs fragrant with their scented odours, the great tide ebbs and flows over the flowerless plants of the sea. Around the huge rocks the perennial fringes of the olive Fuci, undulate in graceful folds among the swelling waves. I do claim for the neglected vegetation of the Sea-side, an elegance of form and structure, a suggestiveness of mathematical designs, a poetry of association and typical expression, a simplicity and modest gracefulness, which will entitle them to the best efforts of the designer."

Then Designers, Conchologists, Algologists, or pure lovers of nature, whoever and whatever ye are, go to the banks of the Hopkins.