36 
THE FERN PARADISE. 
falls suddenly out of its smooth and even descent ; 
and finally, with a parting “gurgle,” disappearing 
under the dark arch of the bridge. On all sides, 
growing out of the steep bank that bounds the 
brook, dropping from the moss-covered sides of the 
bridge, perched on the tops of the tiny boulders 
that peep out of the water, ferns drop the tips of 
their wavy fronds into the cool mirror-like surface 
of the stream. 
Above, around, beneath us, ferns, ferns, a paradise 
of ferns ! 
