156 May Walnut. 



age now, and hide already the heavy, magnificent stems, 

 at least in places. The young leaves of the walnut 

 are pleasant upon the cool gray of the stems, being 

 of an exceedingly warm green, that differs greatly 

 from the crude color of most of the other vegetation. 

 The reader may have observed how peculiarly rich are 

 the dark mosses upon walnuts, but the glory of mosses 

 is not in the time of leaves. The French word noyer 

 comes in a very roundabout way from the Latin nux y 

 a nut, so that noyer means the nut-tree par excellence ; 

 and the Latin name Juglans comes from Jovis glans, 

 Jupiter's nut, as the fruit of this tree was thought good 

 enough for the father of the gods. The ash and the 

 walnut come on very nearly together in the spring, 

 and are not much advanced in the middle of May ; 

 the beech at this season is more attractive, from the 

 particularly lovely and fresh green of the leaves, which 

 have all the exquisiteness of Nature's softest and pret- 

 tiest new things. Their green is delicately pale with- 

 out being crude, and they have downy edges, and 

 are so soft that it is a luxury to touch them ; then, 

 on the upper side, they are protected by a gloss of 

 varnish. I spoke of the transparence of the horse- 

 chestnut leaves ; that of beech-leaves, when they are 

 young and fresh, is still more delicate and beautiful, and 

 the light under them is like what one fancies the pale 

 sea-green light where the mermaids live in submarine 

 grottos and gardens. 



As for the birches, they are in full leaf in May, as if 

 it were the height of summer, and their shining silvery 



