Dec. 18,—Leaves are falling from the trees showers of frost-bitten foliage to remind ws that winter has really come. Of all these the leaves of the Chinese Candleberry (tallow tree) and the Japanese maple are the most beautiful: in every small spot which has been missed by the gardener's broom T find carpets of coo! clean autumn leaves, dull red to golden yellow. with a sweet musty smell reminding me faintly. of tea (and why not—for, after all, what is tea? 'And inthe midst of all this our local Holly Ghould 1 call it Holm or lex?) has suddenly. decided to put forth its little white flowers. do not indulge in ecstacies concerning Nature' marvels, but T must say that a Holly bush Hower at this time of year is one of the most beautital sights imaginable: deep green leaves edged with thorns, and at the base of each Spray, sparkling with frost in the early winter Stim, little clusters of pure white flowers, looking mmrore beautiful in their setting than the earliest Snowdrops. Ils queer o think that Holly was the fashionable decoration of the Roman feasts called Saturnalia and that although 0 Christmas has replaced such festivals, the Holly here and there some riding the wind like "Goop-morning, Willie." sold the neighbour birds of prey, others tumbling sideways in the to the small boy' sweeping up the dead leaves, sudden gusts, and all of them seeming to enjoy "ig your mother in?" every moment of it Why they should act in "Well, 1 wouldn't be doing this on a Saturday this manner cannot explain, for one would she wasn't." imagine they would be much better off feeding on the ground in accordance with their usual
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.