7(> WILD FLOWERS OF 



sounds mingling with his morning meditations. The 

 blue Nuthatch briskly taps upon the bough, shakes 

 off a load of encrusting lichens, and as he snaps up 

 the insects beneath, loudly chirps his delight. The 

 great Tit, instead of his usual harsh grate, now at- 

 icmpts a brisk but imperfect madrigal. Its four or 

 five notes rapidly repeated sounds like a shrill bell. 

 The Blackbird commences his musical intonations 

 morning and evening, and the Woodlark sings soft 

 and sweet. This is the prelude to the concert that 

 must soon arise, for SPRING is AWAKENING ! 



As a gleam of sunshine breaks in upon the dusty 

 room (for the sanctum of a student or virtuoso is sure 

 to be dusty), out pops a blue-bottle fly, weakly buz- 

 zing as he inspects the state of affairs ; retiring again 

 with the withdrawn vagrant ray of light back to his 

 dark snuggery behind unopened books ; while a stern 

 Sir Forceps, who has marked him from a sly corner, 

 tightens his strings, mends his nets, and begins to 

 prepare for the active hostilities of a new campaign. 

 The student, with some surprize, now begins to see 

 how the dust has gathered about him for Spring is 

 awakening even here ! 



Slower, from amidst the smoke and blackened 

 steeples of the city, where dark blinds and dingy cur- 

 tains shut out the stranger sun, and grimy soot invests 

 the leaves of hapless plants confined there, signs of 

 saddened light, sluggard but awakening, appear at 

 last. For in the boudoir fair ladies now smile to see 

 that their Hyacinths (all varieties of the oriental 

 Hyacinth, H. orientaUs)* are giving evident signs of 



' The Dutch florists, who are great cultivators of the Hyacinth, and 

 raise them extensively from the bulb for the market, now enumerate more 

 than two thousand varieties. Some of the rare double ones are highly 

 esteemed, and bear as hig-h a price as <'10. 



