CHAPTER X 



flDctobet 



Skeleton leaves Cotoneaster Paeonies Fuchsias 

 Helianthus Asters Ivy. 



THE modern description of October is ' chill October ' 

 or * dull October ' ; the older description of the month 

 was very different. To our forefathers October 

 came 



' Full of merry glee, 



For yet his noule was totty of the must 

 Which he was treading in the wine vat's sea, 

 And of the joyous yale whose gentle gust 

 Made him so f rollick and so full of lust.' SPENSER. 



To them it was the month which put the crown on the 

 labours of the year, and they rejoiced in it accordingly. 

 But to us who can no longer rejoice in a vintage, but 

 may well be content with our harvest and with our 

 hop-gathering, which is almost more beautiful than a 

 vintage, October has its charms. It may have its cold 

 and even frosty nights, which work sad havoc in the 



105 



