CHAPTER FOUR 



MAY IN THE GARDEN 



" In the quiet garden world 

 Gold sunlight and shadow leaves 

 Flicker on the garden wall." 



Sappho. 



THE wraithlike beauty of April lingers into 

 May, but her step is more reliant, her slender 

 limbs green draped, her colour slightly deepened. 

 These are long golden days, mist-bathed at their ris- 

 ing and full of expectation. Foliage like a green veil 

 swathes the trees; orchards are billowy with bloom, and 

 unnumbered birds sing their thrilling songs and joyously 

 prepare for the sure realization of their dreams. 



Down in the garden a sense of breathless expectation 

 is felt, so much is about to happen, so many mysteries 

 about to unfold, and hundreds of plants, awaiting a sign 

 that they shall recognize, hold their buds closed seem- 

 ingly by main force. Each hour of the day sets free 

 some lovely thing; the sun's persuasive powers are 

 strengthening and enticing showers fall often, coaxing 

 the most timid and backward of the garden's children 

 into haste. 



It is a time of flourishing well-being. Whatever 



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