SPRING 73 



old stems that fell off at a touch in De- 

 cember. The iris, though its older leaves 

 are drooped and faded, keeps its inner and 

 shorter stalks firm and summery-looking 

 until the very last of the snowy season. 



In our coast towns the awakening of the 

 year is heralded by a chorus of sneezes 

 and coughs ; for the air is charged with 

 moisture, making it seem warmer than it 

 is, and men steal into chambers to shed 

 their flannels and exchange them for gauze, 

 avoiding publicity and confession of this 

 swap to escape a scolding. Then they go 

 out, and the mercury drops twenty degrees 

 unannounced, and they go back home and 

 have things the matter with their lungs and 

 other interior fittings. At least they do 

 if they live up to the expectations of those 

 elderly female relatives who gather at the 

 bedside and say, " I told you so." Tak- 

 ing no joy in hot and scratchy flannel, 

 some of them, among whom I humbly 

 number myself, wear none of it, and have 

 only the usual number of colds. When 

 it is chilly one can put on an overcoat. 

 Doubtless if we would breathe deeply and 



