COMMUTER'S WIFE 327 



grapes sunning upon the stone fences was wafted 

 everywhere. The colour followed the ground; Joe 

 Pye and goldenrod surging in great waves across 

 the open, settling in shoulder-deep pools in the 

 hollows and breaking into a golden spray of giant 

 sunflowers over the fences and against the wood 

 edges. 



The dwarf sumachs were beginning to glow like 

 live coals on the drier hills, and here and there the 

 cardinal flower followed a brook out to the road, 

 but the prevailing colour was the peculiar purplish 

 pink and gold the tint that heather, gorse, and 

 broom give to the English moors and Scottish hills. 

 So many people go out and admire the more gaudy 

 autumn leaf reds and yellows, and never seem to 

 notice this intermediate stage between summer and 

 autumn. The fishing proved too intricate for even 

 short petticoats, so I amused" myself by following a 

 number of tempting wood trails on horseback, and 

 saw in the course of the morning, much to father's 

 delight, samples of our trio of game birds, wood- 

 cock, quail, and ruffed-grouse all quite tame and 

 seemingly conscious of the protection of the close 

 season. They had better be on guard, however ; 

 in ten days or so fishing rods will be put to bed 

 and guns will appear. Meanwhile, the local sporting 



