130 FLOWER-FIELDS OF ALPINE SWITZERLAND 



a lovely wealth of magenta-pink Colchicum or 

 " Autumn Crocus " in August and September. 



When visitors, arriving at this late stage in 

 Flora's fortunes, see my coloured transcripts of the 

 fields in May and June, they think that I, like any 

 prejudiced enthusiast, have falsified my evidence. 

 They find the pictures ben trovato, and they say : 

 "How beautiful! but of course you have used 

 an artist's licence ? " They look at the shaven or 

 dingy fields, then again at my paintings, and they 

 teU me plainly they think they can prove an alibi 

 for the flowers in spring, or, at any rate, for a greater 

 part of those I have depicted. And I — I can only 

 assure them their case has " no leg to stand upon." 

 I can only insist that if they knew of my despair 

 when seated with my picture among the flowers in 

 spring — my despair of ever being able to give 

 more than an inkling of the glorious riot that 

 surrounded me — they would suspect the truth ; and 

 that if next year they came here and witnessed for 

 themselves, then, when again they looked upon 

 my pictures, they would curl the lip and speak of 

 insufficiency. 



I am aware that it is, of course, not possible for 

 many of the late-coming visitors to leave the 

 home shores earlier in the year : business is busi- 



