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be entirely concealed from sight by the upspringing grass. And touching
that mildew upon which the editor of Le Soleil so pertinaciously
insists, that he employs the word no less than three times in the
brief paragraph just quoted, is he really unaware of the nature of this
mildew? Is he to be told that it is one of the many classes of fungus,
of which the most ordinary feature is its upspringing and decadence
within twenty-four hours?
"
Thus we see, at a glance, that what has been most triumphantly adduced
in support of the idea that the articles bad been 'for at least three
or four weeks' in the thicket, is most absurdly null as regards any
evidence of that fact. On the other hand, it is exceedingly difficult
to believe that these articles could have remained in the thicket
specified, for a longer period than a single week--for a longer period
than from one Sunday to the next. Those who know any thing of the
vicinity of Paris, know the extreme difficulty of finding seclusion
unless at a great distance from its suburbs. Such a thing as an
unexplored, or even an unfrequently visited recess, amid its woods or
groves, is not for a moment to be imagined. Let any one who, being at
heart a lover of nature, is yet chained by duty to the dust and heat
of this great metropolis--let any such one attempt, even during the
weekdays, to slake his thirst for solitude amid the scenes of natural
loveliness which immediately surround us. At every second step, he will
find the growing charm dispelled by the voice and personal intrusion
of some ruffian or party of carousing blackguards. He will seek privacy
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