([UNIVERSITY 

 THE OPEN FIELDS 



had been hiding, and call gently to each other, as 

 if afraid that a single loud word would dissolve the 

 charm of sun and warm breeze for which they had 

 waited so long. After their dreamless sleep of 

 months, these beautiful children of Mother Earth 

 seemed almost afraid to break the stillness from 

 which they had come, and strayed about noiselessly, 

 with subdued and lovely mien, exhaling a perfume 

 as delicate as themselves. Then, with a rush and 

 shout, the summer flowers suddenly burst upon the 

 scene, overflowing with life and merriment ; in law 

 less troops they ran hither and thither, flinging 

 echoes of their laughter over the whole country-side, 

 and soon overshadowing entirely their older and 

 more sensitive fellows ; these, indeed, soon vanish 

 altogether, as if lonely and out of place under the 

 broad glare and high colors of midsummer. And 

 now for weeks together the game went on without 

 pause or break ; the revelry grew fast and furious, 

 until one suspected that some night the Bacchic 

 throng had passed that way and left their mood of 

 wild and lawless frolic behind. 



At last a softer aspect spread itself over the 

 glowing sky and earth. The nights grew vocal 

 with the invisible chorus of insect life ; there was 

 a mellow splendor in the moonlight, which touched 

 . the distant hills and wide-spreading waters with a 

 pathetic prophecy of change. And now, ripe, 

 serene, and rich with the accumulated beauty of 

 the summer, the autumn flowers appeared. Their 

 movement was like the stately dances of olden 



