Sufferings from Drought 



painted beauty, and delicate perfume ; 

 and to find a great spike of them deco- 

 rating a burly tree is a constant source of 

 astonishment at the prodigality of Nature. 

 It is like the appearance of a fine gentle- 

 man of the last century in a ruffled shirt 

 and diamond shoe - buckles, among the 

 more plainly coated fin dt s&clc beaux of 

 our own day. 



I have a great admiration for a Catalpa ; rtu parrot 



. . and the Co* 



its huge vivid green leaves give it a semi- 

 tropical air, and its sensitiveness to cold 

 and storm shows that it comes naturally 

 from a warmer clime than ours. I try to 

 console it for its exile by lending it in sum- 

 mer-time our Amazon parrot for a com- 

 panion, and there is no prettier sight than 

 the vision of this lovely green bird, of ex- 

 actly the shades of the sunlight and shadow 

 on the Catalpa leaves, pluming himself un- 

 tethered upon the inner branches, only 

 caged by the dome of the great boughs 

 with their verdant canopy. When the 

 leaves are in their prime he is perfectly 

 concealed from view by his color, even 

 when he takes a fancy to perch upon an 

 outer bough ; and there he mocks and 

 197 



