NATURE NEAR LONDON 



from their sheath ; here a pungent odour of mus- 

 tard in flower comes on the air ; there a poppy 

 faints with broad petals flung back and drooping, 

 unable to uphold its gorgeous robes. The flower 

 of the field pea, here again, would make a model 

 for a lady's hat ; so would a butterfly with closed 

 wings on the verge of a leaf; so would the broom 

 blossom, or the pink flower of the restharrow. 

 This hairy caterpillar, creeping along the hawthorn, 

 which, if touched, immediately coils itself in a ring, 

 very recently was thought a charm in distant 

 country places for some diseases of childhood, if 

 hung about the neck. Hedge mustard, yellow and 

 ragged and dusty, stands by the gateway. 



In the evening, as the dew gathers on the grass, 

 which feels cooler to the hand some time before 

 an actual deposit, the clover and vetches close their 

 leaves the signal the hares have been waiting for 

 to venture from the sides of the fields where they 

 have been cautiously roaming, and take bolder 

 strolls across the open and along the lanes. The 

 aspens rustle louder in the stillness of the evening ; 

 their leaves not only sway to and fro, but semi- 

 rotate upon the stalks, which causes their scintil- 

 lating appearance. The stars presently shine from 

 the pale blue sky, and the wheat shimmers dimly 

 white beneath them. 



So time advances till to-day, watching the 



