44 
SUDDEN SUMMER 
strewn ground* On a nearer approach the apparent 
white gives place to a faint or decided pink* The pure 
white stars of the Blood-root have come out, and the 
hillside reveals them one by one, like the fading grey 
vault of the sky in advancing evening* There is 
another and another ! Each star has come forth from 
an enfolding leaf of many graceful lobes and rich, 
green, fleshy, vegetable texture* This flower may last 
but a day, yet it is not always so short-lived* A cold 
night will close the white star into a firm bud, and in 
an uncertain spring a flower may open and close 
several times before the wind scatters its fragile 
petals* The leaves of the Dog-tooth Violet are freely 
unfolding, and here and there a spot of golden yellow 
reveals a flower bending over and glowing toward 
the earth from which it has just arisen* The Scented 
White Violet is peeping timidly from the shade of a 
depression in the hillside* There is a human interest 
in these offerings of spring, delayed so long and 
now crowding forward together* They appeal for 
protection* They cannot endure molestation, and, 
if plucked, will immediately wither and die in an 
appealing protest against such wanton aggression* 
Their mission is to adorn the earth that has nourished 
them into life. 
