12 THE VISIT OF FRANCIS 



I saw not far away. And when it is picked its 

 leaves curl up soon, and it dies. 



One day Tommy found quite a large bunch of 

 Maidenhair Fern that had been taken from their 

 woods, and thrown down later by the roadside. 

 This had been done by some one because it was 

 fading; some one who cared more for picking 

 flowers for the sake of picking than for the 

 flowers themselves. 



In the rock's crevices, and in dry, sunny spots 

 of the woods, there is still another flower bloom- 

 ing. Tommy calls it Dutchman's Breeches. It 

 is white, tinted a little with yellow, and shaped 

 quite differently from any other wild flower that 

 I have seen. Just now I cannot think of anything 

 exactly the shape of these little flowers. Some 

 people think they look like Soldier's Caps, and 

 others call them White Hearts. They are not a 

 bit like Dutchman's Breeches, unless these should 

 be closed at the bottoms, and turned upside down. 

 It is easier, I think, to describe the leaves, for they 

 are cut into many slender parts, and look like 

 ferns. 



After Tommy had found the first Dutchman's 

 Breeches that opened we tried to think of another 

 and prettier name for them. My choice was 

 Butterflies' Banners. No one knows exactly the 

 shape of such things, but perhaps butterflies could 

 think of nothing better for banners that these lit- 

 tle flowers. Tommy had found them by the great 



