^^ 



'Wi] 



I-ili 



^ 



imcns we may desire to bring home for further studj- 

 deii,<:;htfully cool and fresh. 



I generally take an elderly rainproof coat on my excursions, 

 for it serves the double purpose of protection 

 from passing showers, and affording me a dry 

 seat when sitting at my work on the grass, for 

 I must plead guilty to liking this humble and 

 inelegant position above all others when " far from 

 the madding crowd." 



Ever since my childhood, wild flowers have 



» 7 \r .X. - -^i^. held a great charm for me, and I can remember 

 , -.J how, in those golden hours of long ago, I used to 



steal away through a hole in the hedge of my 

 country home, known only to the chickens and 

 myself, to the forbidden ground of a neighbouring 

 meadow, and there revel in the long, and often 

 damp, grass, with its treasures of golden buttercups 

 and dandelions, and its high cow-parsley towering 

 above my limited stature. Here I would remain 

 until found and reprimanded by those in authority 

 over me, and condemned to the tamer delights of 

 the garden, with its trim lawns and gravelled walks. 

 Xo scolding, no fearsome 

 tales of irate farmers, or 

 imaginary hobgoblins, 



could ever shake my longing for that enchanted 



field, which presented a sort of El Dorado to 



my youthful imagination. 



The happy days of childhood have fled, 



the country home is no longer ours, but I 



still have the same feeling of enthusiastic 



delight in ^^ature's boundless store of jewels, 



when, on a bright sunny morning, armed with 



my knapsack and some simple provisions, I 



take an early train away from the smoke of 



the city, to one of the many beauty spots 



still left within easy reach of town (did we 



Londoners only trouble to find them out), 



and there spend a long, lovel)- day amidst 



most delightful surroundings. 



Many of the little studies that i\Ii.ss 



Klickmann has scattered throughout this 



volume owe their origin to these country trips. 



I generally collect a few pretty little specimens 



on m)' way, and then choose a shady spot for 



When Daisies pied, and Violets blue. 

 And Ladysmoclfs all silver white, 



And Cuckoo-buds ot yellow hue 

 Do paint the meadows with deliUht. 



.S/;,i<v.,/r,..f. 



52 



