Autumn 



But it is altogether human to set es- 

 pecial value upon the things of which we 

 are about to be deprived, and now, more 

 than ever, we linger out of doors, yield- 

 ing ourselves to influences which lie upon 

 our spirits like a benediction, storing our 

 minds with images which, among less in- 

 spiring surroundings, will 



" flash upon that inward eye, 



Which is the bliss of solitude." 



Few flowers are abroad, barring the asters 

 and golden -rods, yet these few we invest 

 with a peculiar interest and affection, ex- 

 periencing a sensation of gratitude, al- 

 most, as toward some beings who have 

 stood stanch when the multitudes fell 

 away. 



No group of plants belong more distinc- 

 tively to the season than do the gentians. 

 Of these, the most famous, though by no 

 means the most frequent representative, is 

 the fringed gentian, a flower which owes, 



