CHAPTER XXII 



EARLY SPRING AT VEVEY 



FOR the first ten or twelve days after the thaw 

 there was little evidence, in spite of the brilliant 

 sunshine, of the awakening of spring. One striking 

 plant, however, was in full blossom in the woods and 

 on the hill-side. The hellebore (Helleborus fcetidus, L.), 

 known also as bear's-foot and setterwort, a large, bushy 

 plant with deeply divided leaves and great clusters of 

 pale green flowers edged with purple, was scattered here 

 and there over the slopes. It is a rare plant with us, at 

 least in the south of England, but it still flourishes in 

 Gilbert White's old locality on Selborne Hill, where it 

 sometimes puts forth its blossoms as early as January. 

 But here, in the uplands above Vevey, on the rocks of 

 the mountain gorges, in the woods and copses, it is 

 common enough. I first noticed it, to my delight, on 

 the perpendicular rock above the Castle of Chillon, and 

 afterwards found it to be the characteristic plant of the 

 uplands in early spring. 



On 22nd February I climbed the mountain which 

 rises above Blonay, known as Les Pleiades, up which a 

 rack and pinion railway now runs to the summit, but 

 the line is not open during the winter months. It was 

 a lovely spring morning. The sun was shining brightly, 

 the air was still, the blue waters of the lake sparkled 

 below, and not a cloud rested on the snow-capped Dent 



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