SOUTH RAIN 



from far ; the pale, olive green tint of the 

 willow's complexion was transparent in 

 its new-found brilliancy. 



Looking down on the ruddy glow of 

 healthy maple twigs, it seemed as if they 

 should have yellow hair and sunny blue 

 eyes, so rich is the coloring of these 

 Saxons of the wood and so fresh it shone 

 under the ministering rain. Even the 

 dour scrub oaks, surly Ethiopians, were 

 not so black as they have been painted 

 all winter, but lost their ebon tint in a 

 hue of rich dark green that was a pleas- 

 ing foil to the cecropia-moth beauty of 

 the rest of the woods. 



The one color lacking was blue. The 

 sky's leaden gray was but a foil for the 

 rich woodland tints, and I wandered on 

 seeking its hue elsewhere. Over on the 

 hillside are the hepaticas. Their color 

 when open is hardly* blue, being more 

 13 



