122 THROUGH GLADE AND MEAD. 
of his joy in beholding it. It is enough for him that it 
is so fair and pleasant. Why, after all, should he trouble 
himself to find out how the apple got inside the dump- 
ling? That question, so far as he is concerned, may 
safely be left to the king. 
And all the time, his memory is unconsciously 
preserving these things, piled as it were one upon the 
other, forming palimpsests that will be the cherished 
treasures of later years. But there comes a time when, 
perhaps, he desires to know more of the world around 
him and to know it in a different way, and then the key 
to one of the gates is in his hand. Desire to know is 
the “Open Sesame” at which the gate will turn on its 
hinges. Some one may have entered at the same gate, 
have traveled far afield and on his return have told the 
story of the sights to be seen in that pleasant land; and 
the reading of the little tale has been an inspiration to 
many another to follow in the same path. 
The dog’s tooth violet (Zrythronium Americanum, 
Ker.) was the first flower which I was able to identify 
by a careful study of its structure. I must have seen 
fields yellow with it often before, but I cannot think 
that I ever really noticed it till then. It certainly seems 
different ever since. I look for it every spring time; if 
I should not see it, something would be wanting to the 
perfect charm of that delightful season. The next date 
in that early diary is May 14th, and the next names in 
