60 ALONG THE WATERWAYS 



of the tallest man, rears its hollow stems, from a 

 perennial rootstock, and opens its flowers wide as a 

 hand's breadth. They range in color, like the pink 

 Azalea, from blush -white through deep rose to 

 almost crimson in the unopened bud. Far up 

 rivers and by inland lakes, wherever a salty flavor 

 tempts it, the Mallow flourishes; and though it is 

 water -loving, if a place where it is firmly fixed is 

 drained, and the conditions changed, it will still 

 live bravely on, though smaller and paler. 



In the hand, Rose Mallow is a coarse flower, 

 perfect in color only on its first morning of 

 blooming. Its leaves are rough and quick to lose 

 their shape, and every stalk is made ragged by 

 faded blooms and rough seed-pods. As it grows, 

 each tint of color, from palest to deepest, reflects 

 among the strong leaf shadows, and the whole, 

 thrown in relief by a background of deep green 

 reeds, is something to seek and gaze upon. Then 

 we may keep its color memory alone, though its 

 outlines may be treasured with the aid of the cam- 

 era's eye ; for, like the field of Fleur-de-Lys, it 

 is unpaintable by human hands. Are we not over- 

 bold when we try to reproduce in detail by direct 

 color, that perfection of flower beauty born of a 

 combination of its natural tint, atmosphere, reflec- 



