68 SCARLET PIMPERNEL. 



will amply repay the trouble of minute 

 investigation ; the seed-vessel is a globe, 

 divisible into two hemispheres ; the corolla 

 appears as if covered with spangles, the sta- 

 mens with gold and purple, and the leaves 

 are elegantly spotted underneath. Nothing 

 can be more exquisite than the symmetry of 

 all its parts, nor more briUiant than the 

 colours with which it is invested and adorned. 



The blue pimpernel, A. cerulea, is like- 

 wise seen in corn-fields, though less con- 

 spicuous than the scarlet. It affects also 

 the banks of running streams, as if it loved 

 to see its beautiful image reflected on the 

 mirror-like waters. Those who visit the 

 banks of the Tay, near Delvine, may gather 

 a profusion of its flowers from amid tufts 

 of moss and fern that fringe their rugged 

 margin. 



The bog pimpernel, on the contrary, is 

 never seen beside the streamlet's dash. It 



