PAINTING THE LANDSCAPE 



with a confidence in my powers which fired 

 ambition, " Put red colour there : " or, 

 "No red here, but dark blue and gold." 

 And then I would take up the work in my 

 turn, and try to paint in the desired colour 

 with flowers. It was not always easy to 

 put "red colour," nor yet "dark blue and 

 gold/' in the places indicated, for they were 

 often spots where none of the reds, blues, 

 or yellows of my acquaintance would consent 

 to blossom. But there was nevertheless 

 a certain excitement about experimenting, 

 and much instruction evolved from each 

 effort. It was as if Dame Nature had said, 

 " I dare you to put it there." And, when- 

 ever I got the better of her and succeeded, 

 it was a victory indeed, besides introducing 

 me to new flowers, or teaching me about 

 hitherto unknown traits in the old ones. 

 In all my plantings, however, the domi- 

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