THE PAGEANT OF SUMMER 



thing in the odour of these umbelliferous 

 plants, perhaps, is not quite liked; if 

 brushed or bruised they give out a bitter 

 greenish scent. Under their cover, well 

 shaded and hidden, birds build, but not 

 against or on the stems, though they will 

 affix their nests to much less certain sup- 

 ports. With the grasses that overhung 

 the edge, with the rushes in the ditch 

 itself, and these great plants on the 

 mound, the whole hedge was wrapped 

 and thickened. No cunning of glance 

 could see through it; it would have 

 needed a ladder to help any one look 

 over. 



It was between the may and the June 

 roses. The may bloom had fallen, and 

 among the hawthorn boughs were the 

 little green bunches that would feed the 

 redwings in autumn. High up the briars 

 had climbed, straight and towering while 

 there was a thorn or an ash sapling, or a 

 yellow-green willow to uphold them, and 

 then curving over towards the meadow. 



