60 OUTDOOR STUDIES 
army which has scattered the contents of its 
treasure chest among beds of scented moss. 
The fingers sink in the soft, moist verdure, and 
make at each instant some superb discovery 
unawares ; again and again, straying carelessly, 
they clutch some new treasure; and, indeed, 
the plants are linked together in bright neck- 
laces by secret threads beneath the surface, 
and where you grasp at one, you hold many. 
The hands go wandering over the moss as over 
the keys of a piano, and bring forth odors for 
melodies. The lovely creatures twine and nestle 
and lay their glowing faces to the very earth 
beneath withered leaves, and what seemed mere 
barrenness becomes fresh and fragrant beauty. 
So great is the charm of the pursuit, that the 
epigeea is really the wild-flower for which our 
country people have a hearty passion. Every 
village child knows its best haunts, and watches 
for it eagerly in the spring ; boys wreathe their 
hats with it, girls twine it in their hair, and the 
cottage windows are filled with its beauty. 
In collecting these early flowers, one finds or 
fancies singular natural affinities. I flatter my- 
self with being able always to discover hepatica, 
if there is any within reach, for I was brought 
up with it ; but other persons, who were brought 
up with Mayflower, and remember searching 
for it with their childish fingers, can find that 
