AMONG THE WILD-FLOWERS 7 



take flight, or were they little fleets of fairy 

 boats, with sail set, tossing on a mimic sea of 

 wild weedy growths ? Such images throng the 

 mind on recalling the scene, and only faintly 

 hint its beauty and animation. The long, 

 erect, white se23als do much to give the alert, 

 tossing look which the flower wears. The dim 

 light, too, of its secluded haunts, and its snowy 

 purity and freshness, contribute to the impres- 

 sion it makes. The purple tinge is like a stain 

 of wine which has slightly overflowed the brim 

 of the inflated lip or sac and run part way 

 down its snowy sides. 



This lady's slipper is one of the rarest and 

 choicest of our wild-flowers, and its haunts and 

 its beauty are known only to the few. Those 

 who have the secret guard it closely, lest their 

 favorite be exterminated. A well-known bot- 

 anist in one of the large New England cities 

 told me that it was found in but one place in 

 that neighborhood, and that the secret, so far 

 as he knew, was known to but three persons, 

 and was carefully kept by them. 



A friend of mine, an enthusiast on orchids, 

 came one June day a long way by rail, to see 

 this flower. I conducted him to the edge of the 

 swamp, lifted up the branches as I would a 

 curtain, and said, ''There they are." 



"Where? " said he, peering far into the dim 

 recesses. 



"Within six feet of you," I replied. 



He narrowed his vision, and such an expres- 

 sion of surprise and delight as came over his 



