12 THE JONATHAN PAPERS 



After luncheon and a long, lazy rest on our 

 log we went back to the stream and loitered 

 down its bank. Pussy-willows, their sleek sil 

 ver paws bursting into fat, caterpillary things, 

 covered us with yellow pollen powder as we 

 brushed past them. Now and then we were 

 arrested by the sharp fragrance of the spice 

 bush, whose little yellow blossoms had es 

 caped our notice. In the damp hollows the 

 ground was carpeted with the rich, mottled 

 green leaves and tawny yellow bells of the 

 adder s-tongue, and the wet mud was sweet 

 with the dainty, short-stemmed white violets. 

 On the dry, barren places were masses of saxi 

 frage, bravely cheerful; on the rocky slopes 

 fragile anemones blew in the wind, and fluffy 

 green clumps of columbine lured us on to a 

 vain search for an early blossom. 



As the afternoon waned, and the wind 

 freshened crisply, we guessed that it was 

 milking-time, and wandered up to a farm 

 house where we persuaded the farmer s wife 

 to give us bread and cheese and warm new 

 milk. We were urged to &quot;set inside,&quot; but 

 preferred to take the great white pitcher of 

 milk out to the steps of the little back porch 



