34 ROUND ABOUT CHICAGO 



hardened householder lets us go through his lot 

 "this time," even while he pounds with peculiar 

 emphasis on the staples with which he is fasten- 

 ing up the new barbed wire. 



Visitors stand in their minds for wanton mis- 

 chief. They break the trees and dig up things, 

 thoughtlessly, I am sure, but none the less irre- 

 parably. Oh! the pity of it, that state or city 

 does not quickly buy these woods and protect 

 them for the enjoyment of all the people all the 

 time. Private ownership of a river bank seems 

 so preposterous! 



You may go a long way up the river. It will 

 be much quicker coming back. But you must 

 always save an hour or two of the late afternoon 

 to walk down the river path from Thatcher's Park 

 to River Forest, while the big boy is left to enjoy 

 himself with the canoes. As soon as you have 

 passed the village you come into the sweet, open 

 spring woods. The fresh tender green of the 

 young leaves, the clear light blue of the carpeting 

 phlox, the patches of blue-and-white innocence, 

 the violets and buttercups, make beautiful color 

 pictures on every hand. 



The big little girl sets out to look for a Jack- 

 in-the-pulpit, and soon finds him, two of him, 

 preaching to one another, just as they used to 



