30 PROSERPINA. 



ally ; but its brilliant yellow is a much more definite 

 characteristic ; and needs insisting on, because there is a 

 'Viola lutea' which is not yellow at all; named so by 

 the garden florists. My Viola aurea is the Rock-violet 

 of the Alps ; one of the bravest, brightest, and dearest 

 of little flowers. The following notes upon it, with its 

 summer companions, a little corrected from my diary of 

 1877, will enough characterize it. 



" June 1th. The cultivated meadows now grow only 

 dandelions in frightful quantity too ; but, for wild 

 ones, primula, bell gentian, golden pansy, and anemone, 

 Primula farinosa in mass, the pansy pointing and vivify- 

 ing in a petulant sweet way, and the bell gentian here 

 and there deepening all, as if indeed the sound of a 

 deep bell among lighter music. 



" Counted in order, I find the effectively constant 

 flowers are eight ;* namely, 



" 1. The golden anemone, with richly cut large leaf ; 

 primrose colour, and in masses like primrose, studded 

 through them with bell gentian, and dark purple orchis. 



" 2. The dark purple orchis, with bell gentian in equal 

 quantity, say six of each in square yard, broken by 

 sparklings of the white orchis and the white grass-flower ; 

 the richest piece of colour I ever saw} touched with gold 

 by the geum. 



* Nine ; I see that I missed count of P. farinosa, the most abund- 

 ant of all. 



