75 
CROSSING THE ST. GOTHARD. 
Far, far on high the stately fir trees climb 
In slow receding column towards the sky, 
And thick upon them hangs the brilliant rime 
Of cold encrusted flakes, which whirl and fly 
Athwart the hills, and gather in the rifts 
And crannies of the frowning rocks below. 
Stern, black and cruel, as the cloud which lifts 
Its head beyond yon shaming peak of snow. 
The driving mist wreaths steal across their frown 
Veiling its harshness ; then again they break. 
And lo, the snow-fed falls come crashing down 
In low, melodious thunder towards the lake, 
Which, fed by rushing river, — rippling rills. 
In jade-green grandeur lies among the hills. 
Lower we go, and lower yet, — our way 
Grows clearer, till the snow is almost gone, 
And through the icy covering, sweet and gay 
The cowslips push their heads towards the sun. 
Still lower, and the fields are golden green, — 
The willows by the stream are blushing red. 
And here and there a bird of sprightly mien 
Trips gaily, jerking tail and nodding head. 
Pale primroses and violets star the grass 
Between the bare poles where the vines will be. 
And in the meadows, maiden Spring we pass 
Touching with tender fingers bough and tree, — 
We almost see her, as beneath our gaze 
In rosy veils the almond she arrays. 
M. L. A. 
April 2, 1898. 
REVIEWS AND EXCHANGES. 
Flowers of the Field. By the late Rev. C. A. Johns, B.A., F.L.S. Edition 
twenty-nine. Edited by G. S. Boulger, F.L.S., F.G.S. 8vo. pp. lii., 
626. With numerous illustrations. S.P.C.K. London. 1899. Price 
7s. 6d. 
This is a new book in an old setting. For many years Johns’ “Flowers of 
the Field ” has been the primer of English botany, and has done much to instil 
and foster an interest in our wild flowers. The publishers have done well in 
securing the services of a competent editor to bring the book up to date. The 
term editor is used here in a large sense, for though there is no alteration in the 
plan of the work, the text has, in the words of the title-page, been “ entirely 
re-written and revised.” A great improvement is to be found in the Introduction, 
from which the historically interesting, but out of date and unscientific Linnaean 
