mother. I had some of them potted off and put 

 under glass, where they seem to be doing well. 

 I am now wondering when they will flower, and 

 whether they will justify the experiment. 



A good many violets are in bloom, not only 

 the Parma ones in a frame, but also the common 

 ones out in the open. Last year some patches 

 blossomed so freely that the ground looked quite 

 blue with them. I have seldom seen them flower so 

 profusely before, except in fields in Switzerland, 

 and their behavior was not at all in keeping with 

 the character for modesty which they universally 

 enjoy. They did not hesitate to flaunt their 

 charms in the most demonstrative and unblushing 

 manner. 



An occasional lapse of weakness of this de- 

 scription, however, according to the theory just 

 propounded, can not be regarded as vice. The 

 most immaculate and unassailable modesty must, 

 I suppose, sometimes be permitted to display its 

 charms or there would be no evidence of the ex- 

 istence of anything to be diffident about. 



Some Parma violets were left out in the open 

 the previous winter, and in a quite unsheltered 

 50 



