A STUDY OF YOUNG LIMES. 24.5 
small cluster of half a dozen, stands gracefully 
out from the trunk, as if to show, by contrast, 
the beauty of the dark brown, and almost pur- 
plish colouring of the smooth bark. 
It is, however, as we have said, the delightful 
heads which are invested with the crowning 
beauty of these Trees. There is no other town- 
growing Tree which, in the early spring, ex- 
hibits such a peculiarly soft and rich luxuriance 
of golden green leafage as the Lime. Passing 
along a suburban thoroughfare, the houses in 
which are fronted by Tree-planted gardens, one is 
struck by the singular lightness, richness, and 
delicacy of the Lime leaves. It is beauty, indeed, 
of a feminine kind: for it is too deliciously soft 
in its character to lay claim to any of the 
masculine attributes. The eye revels in its 
luxurious fulness; and conveys to the mind a 
sense of what has been aptly described as ‘inner 
inexpressible pleasure.’ 
But we have been examining our Trees from a 
distance—a short distance, it is true, for only a 
short expanse of turf intervenes between our 
stand-point and the Lime row. Still, it is rather 
P 2 
