VII. 

 THISTLES. 



THE thistle belongs to the later summer, when 

 the whites and blues are already beginning 

 to pass into the reds and purples. It is well on 

 for the end of June before I notice the children a 

 little browner, a little more freckled, with evident 

 signs of mending on their pinnies under the lime 

 tree getting at the cheeses. Tearing off the outer 

 wrapping, they expose the white cushion, on which 

 the purple-robed flowers sit in such dainty state > 

 and this they consume, with the relish of epicures 

 of nature. 



What skilled botanists of a practical sort these 

 children are ! It is wonderful how they know 

 what to eat, when it should be sought for, and 

 where to find it lessons which, as we grow up and 

 lose our freshness, we forget more and more. On the 



early morning of another day, they start the hare 



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