AN ISLAND GARDEN 79 



roaring of wild breakers round its shores. When 

 at last the tempest wears itself out, what delight 

 there is in the great tranquillity that follows it, 

 what music in the soft, far murmurs of ceasing 

 strife in air and ocean, spent wrath that seems to 

 breathe yet in an undertone, half sullen, half re- 

 lenting, while the broad yellow light that lies over 

 sea and rocks in stillness, like a quiet smile, 

 promises a heavenly day on the morrow. 



Then, with what fresh wealth of color and per- 

 fume the garden will meet the resplendent sun- 

 rise ! Every moment it grows more and more 

 beautiful. I think for wondrous variety, for cer- 

 tain picturesque qualities, for color and form 

 and a subtle mystery of character, Poppies seem, 

 on the whole, the most satisfactory flowers among 

 the annuals. There is absolutely no limit to their 

 variety of color. They are the tenderest lilac, the 

 deepest crimson, richest scarlet, white with softest 

 suffusion of rose ; all shades of rose, clear light 

 pink with sea-green centre, the anthers in a golden 

 halo about it ; black and fire-color ; red that is 

 deepened to black, with gray reflections ; cherry- 

 color, with a cross of creamy white at the bottom 

 of the cup, and round its central altar of ineffable 

 golden green again the halo of yellow anthers; 

 purple, with rich splashes of a deeper shade of the 

 same color, with grayish white rays about the 

 centre ; all shades of lavender and lilac ; exqui- 

 site smoke-color, in some cases delicately touched 

 and freaked with red ; some pure light gray, 

 some of these gray ones edged with crimson or 

 scarlet ; there are all tints of mauve. To tell all 



