MAY 105 



Hundreds of tulips belong to my May 

 garden ; the late kinds left over, as it were, 

 from the April World's Fair and it must have 

 a row of the old favourite Crown Imperial. It 

 is a stately plant, holding itself "high and 

 disposedly " like the dancing of good Queen 

 Bess, and, to use Pet Marjorie's phrase, " all 

 primmed up with majestick pride" because of 

 the pearly drop of nectar hidden at the base of 

 each petal. For show only are the dull red 

 and yellow things planted, as for show only 

 we ask certain persons to our dinner parties 

 sometimes, and our receptions often, not 

 because they are interesting, or pretty, or 

 bright, but because of an obsession regarding 

 them which makes us like to see their names 

 in the list of our guests ! Why ? A woman's 

 reason Because ! 



For love only are the cowslips planted, since 

 they have no great beauty of their own. It 

 were folly to deny that their charm is that 

 they were the chosen flower of the greatest of 

 poets. Were our ears but fine enough perhaps 

 we could hear Ariel singing as he swings in 

 their freckled bells, singing of the good old 

 days when fairies danced on the green, and 



