THE BROWNING OF THE LEAVES 241 



cannot exist without iron. May it not be then 

 that the blaze of autumn is caused by the rusting 

 of millions and millions of fairy girders and stays 

 in the scaffolding of the leaves from which all 

 the vital green and their products have been with- 

 drawn before the trees finally cast them away ? 



See how the autumn tries to woo the trees into 

 imprudent green with bursts of sunshine brighter 

 and more balmy that many of the months of 

 summer, but without breaking through the useful 

 habit that a winter now and then proves to be 

 for the best. Every one has noticed how, after 

 September and October have marked the running 

 down of the year, a second summer intervenes 

 before the portals of winter are reached. It has 

 been variously called St. Martin's Summer, St. 

 Martin's Day being the llth of November ; All 

 Saints' Summer, for the 1st of November ; or 

 St. Luke's Little Summer, which brings it back to 

 the 18th of October. 



The ordinary man does not trouble himself to 

 find a reason for this quickening of summer after 

 autumn has set in. It would be interesting to 

 try him and see if he could, by guessing, hit upon 

 the leading paradox of our solar system. Every 

 one knows that Great Britain turns away from 

 the sun at midsummer, that by Christmas it has 

 reached the limit of its rudeness, and begins to 

 turn back towards the full light of next midsummer. 

 Now, from 25th October to Christmas is two 

 months, and from Christmas to 25th February is 

 Q 



