24 i BRAMBLES AND BAY LEAVES. 
luxuriant character. If the plants in the exterior be 
pulled up, the spawn of the mushrooms will frequently 
be found attached to their roots, and in the barren 
interior of the circle, at the depth of two or three inches, 
the soil will be found saturated with it. 
Such is the disenchantment which the fairy ring must 
undergo : not to the destruction of its beauty, nor to 
the lessening of our interest in its growth, but to the 
exaltation of our views of the vast economy of nature, 
and of that wisdom wdiich lies behind nature, whose 
workings are seen to be as perfect and as beautiful in 
the vast machinery of revolving stars, as in the succes¬ 
sive growths of fairy rings. Of old, it was deemed 
sacrilege to question the mysteries of nature ; and to 
pry into alleged supernatural powers brought shame and 
suffering in return. Science, supplanting these unseen 
powers with agencies more subtle and wonders more 
enchanting, bids us ask and ask again, giving to each 
trustful question answers full of winder and full of joy. 
