A SPRING HOLIDAY 



and yellow adder's-tongue in the sunny spaces, 

 then great bowlders with lovely little forest gar- 

 dens on their flat surfaces ; the young woolly 

 leaves of the wild ginger, its bell-like, red-brown, Fortst 

 shamefaced flower actually pretty in its fresh- K '" Ji '' 

 ness ; great groups of wake-robin with gay pur- 

 ple-red blossoms catching the sunlight ; tiny bell- 

 worts, and the bursting, purplish blossoms and 

 delicate foliage, suggestive of maidenhair, of the 

 early meadow-rue. Still farther in were receding 

 cliffs with moss-grown shelves harboring feathery 

 tufts of bladder-fern, and — their crowning glory 

 — great soft masses of the finely cut leaves of 

 the squirrel-corn, with here and there a spike of 

 pale-pink, heart-shaped flowers. The moments 

 flew, and the hour when we must meet our train 

 was perilously near. With one long look we left 

 our beautiful woods, remounted our wheels, and 

 resolved to live the week through on fragrant 

 memories. 



53 



