FLOWERS OF THE FAR NORTH 141 



story in. And, I daresay, those northern imagina- 

 tions sometimes used it for the purpose in the 

 dull winter-time. 



That autumn day it was suggestive of something 

 milder. The retreating shelves were hidden away 

 amid the colours of geranium, pelargonium, and 

 fuchsia. All this brightness was backed by the 

 green of native ferns. For the presiding spirits 

 were lovers of nature, even more than florists. 

 There many a summer afternoon was dreamt 

 away, in sweet forgetfulness of monotony and 

 dulness. 



The ladies were enthusiastic gardeners indeed 

 must have been, to have achieved such results as 

 these under prevailing conditions. They trembled 

 between the humorous and the pathetic in their 

 description of the difficulties and disappointments 

 of horticulture in Orkney. 



" It's all very well for you to admire now," said 

 one, half poutingly ; " but if you only knew what 

 trouble they have been, and how much anxiety 

 they represent. When we have just coaxed them 

 above ground, and are saying to ourselves, ' Soul, 

 take thine ease, sleep in peace,' a south-wester 

 will rise through the night, and in the morning 

 great foam flakes are flying over the island, 



