On the Perversity of Certain Trees 



the insatiable rosechafer ; yet, in spite of 

 these drawbacks, they thrive in the rich 

 deep soil of the swale, sheltered by the 

 hill from the sun and the burning south- 

 west winds. They are planted about fif- 

 teen feet apart, as we thought they would 

 do better in close company, and they can 

 be trimmed out when they are larger if it 

 seems desirable. Smaller ones are set on 

 the hillside, where they seem to flourish, 

 and some future generation may see our 

 hillside, like those noble slopes of the 

 Connecticut valley, waving with their 

 splendid foliage. 



But all these trees give us care and information 

 trouble, and much disappointment, like fate. 

 everything on which one's heart is set, 

 and then we are always finding out things 

 just too late, for we constantly discover in 

 our reading articles published the day 

 after the fair, which show us how much 

 better we might have done had we had 

 the information a year or two earlier. In 

 fact we have reason to think ourselves 

 among those 



Mountainous minds that were awake too soon, 

 Or else their brethren slept too late, 



59 



