156 IN A GLOUCESTERSHIRE GARDEN 



In this short sketch I have strictly confined myself 

 to the earliest spring flowers ; indeed, they might 

 almost be ranked as winter flowers, or 'harbingers of 

 spring.' Had I gone further, I should soon have found 

 myself in that wealth of flowers which is seen in April 

 and May, and includes the great families of tulips, 

 hyacinths, violets, crown imperials, dafi'odils, even 

 roses, and literally hundreds of other plants. And 

 even within the narrow limits I have prescribed to 

 myself, I have by no means exhausted the list of 

 beauties that may be grown, but I have said enough to 

 show that even snow and frost, and dark days and cold 

 nights, will not prevent us, even in our much-abused 

 climate, from having our gardens gay with flowers, 

 which will not only delight us for their beauty, but 

 will also teach us good lessons of hope and thankful- 

 ness. In January the days are dark and cloudy, and 

 the trees are bare and leafless, but not always, and not 

 for long : — 



' Time will bring on summer, 

 When briars shall have leaves as well as thorns, 

 And be as sweet as sharp.' 



