With your hazy distances,
And your fine insistences,
Of russet, amber, brown,
From what region dost thou journey
Hither to our fields a-tourney,
Flinging thy dim gauntlet down?
Dost thou come from Southern seas?
Or from mountain fastnesses?
Ho, we call thee Indian Summer,
O thou late and languid comer,
Loitering our forest aisles;
Idling with the sunshine dreamy,
As with wandering a-weary,
Chary, ever, of thy smiles.
Thou hast come to claim the glamour
Of the dear, departed Summer.
—M. D. Tolman.
[Illustration: HORNED TOADS (LIZARDS).
Phrynosoma cornutus (Texas).
Phrynosoma coronatum (California).
Life-size.
FROM COL. CHI. ACAD. SCIENCES.]