56 THE FRIENDSHIP OF NATURE 



in the sea; piling angry fortresses only 

 to riddle them with thunderbolts and 

 cast them down upon the dunes in show- 

 ers, holding a rainbow in their stead. 

 The black waters of the creek double 

 in its depths the shifting scenery, the 

 storm clouds and the lightning forking 

 down, the rainbow resting upon the 

 leaden sea, the full moon, the sailing 

 hawk, and the winking stars. As July 

 lengthens, the spraying bloom of the 

 sea-lavender spreads over the salt grass; 

 and where fresh springs mingle with 

 the bog the sundew, with its honeyed, 

 fly-ensnaring leaves, buds out beside 

 the pitcher plant, in whose water-laden 

 carafes unwary insects drown them- 

 selves. On the dunes the prickly 

 Indian fig expands its yellow wheels, 

 pressing the sand closely in its love of 

 heat. A band of flame edges a mass 

 of reeds, and the deep-rooted Philadel- 



