AN ISLAND GARDEN 103 



A thousand varied hues amid the play of flutter- 

 ing leaves : Marigolds ablaze in vivid flame ; pur- 

 ple Pansies, a myriad flowers, white, pink, blue, 

 carmine, lavender, in waves of sweet color and 

 perfume to the garden fence, where stand the 

 sentinel Sunflowers and Hollyhocks, gorgeously 

 arrayed and bending gently to the breeze; Sun- 

 flowers with broad faces that seem to reflect the 

 glory of the day; the Hollyhocks, tall spikes of 

 pale and deep pink, white, scarlet, yellow, maroon, 

 and many hues. Over the sweet sea of flowers 

 the butterflies go wavering on airy wings of white 

 and gold, the bees hum in the Hollyhocks, and 

 the humming-birds glitter like jewels in the sun ; 

 but whether these their winged lovers go or come, 

 the flowers do not care, they live their happy 

 lives and rejoice, intent only on fulfilling Heaven's 

 will, to grow and to blossom in the utmost per- 

 fection possible to them. Climbing the 'trellis, 

 the monthly Honeysuckle holds its clusters high 

 against the pure sunlit sky, glowing in beauty 

 beyond any words of mine to tell. Charming 

 people sit within the pleasant room among its 

 flowers, listening to the delicious music; others 

 are grouped without in the sun-flecked shadow of 

 the green vines, where the cool air ripples lightly 

 in the leaves ; lovely women in colors that seem 

 to have copied the flowers in the garden, and all 

 steeped in sweet dreams and fugitive fancies as 

 delicate as the perfumes that drift in soft waves 

 from the blossoms below. Beyond the garden 

 the green grassy spaces sloping to the sea are rich 

 with blossoming thickets of wild Roses, among 



