260 SEPTEMBER. 



the luxury of a Nutting expedition, and I recur 

 to the memory of it with double interest now 

 that some of the partners of my pleasure are 

 sleeping in the dust. 



I must not omit the great variety of fungi 

 which flourish this month. These are of every 

 size, shade, and hue, according to species and 

 situation, from the slender filament of scarlet or 

 yellow upon some decaying stump, to the bold, 

 broad agaric of a foot in height and diameter, 

 standing in the forest as a fitting table for King 

 Oberon. No production of Nature but is en- 

 dowed with some portion of that beauty so 

 lavishly diffused through creation ; and these 

 humble and despised vegetables, which the 

 clown kicks away with his foot, will certainly 

 appear to an attentive eye not destitute of their 

 share. In roaming the ancient wilds of Sher- 

 wood Forest in the autumn of 1827, I was par- 

 ticularly struck with their varying character; 

 some broad, tabular and flecked with brown ; 

 some in the shade of trees of a pearly whiteness, 

 others of a brilliant rose-colour, some whose de- 

 licate surfaces were studded with dark emboss- 

 ments, some fashioned like a Chinese parasol; 

 others gibbous and grotesque, the massy puff- 

 ball, which before it becomes dry has been 

 known to weigh several pounds, the pestilent, 



