94 
RURAL HOURS. 
foims of the wild creatures which so lately roamed over these 
hills, and we are half persuaded that the timid doe or the wily 
catamount is again drawing near to drink from the fountain at 
our feet — we hear the crash of a dry branch, or the rustling of 
leaves, and we start as though expecting to see the painted war- 
rior, armed with flint-headed arrows and tomahawk of stone, glid- 
ing through the wood toward us. It was but yesterday that 
such beings peopled the forest, beings with as much of life as 
runs within om' own veins, who drank their daily draught from tlie 
springs we now call our own ; yesterday they were here, to-day 
scarce a vestige of their existence can be pointed out among us. 
Friday, Slst — Thunder-shower this afternoon, everything grow- 
ing finely. The blackberry-bushes, very common here, are com- 
ing into flower along the road-sides and fences. The white thorn 
is also blooming; there is a rustic elegance about its clusters 
which leads one readily to admit its claims as a favorite of the 
poets — the form of this flower is so simple, and the colored heads 
of the stamens are so daintity pretty ; it has been opening for 
several days, and many of the bushes, or trees rather, are in full 
flower. In this hilly climate, it blossoms late, still it saves its 
credit as the flower of May ; in the rural districts of England, 
"the May" is said to be a common name for the hawthorn. 
Walked about the shrubbery with the hope of finding a rose 
open, but our search was fruitless. Last year a few of the early 
kind bloomed in May, but the present season is more backwai'd. 
With us, the roses scarcely belong to spring, we should rather 
date our summer from their unfolding ; the bushes were never 
more full of buds, however, and some of these are beginning to 
disclose their coloring ; but the greater number are still closely 
