25 MAY 1951, Page 13

An Elusive Moment

Determined to enjoy myself out of doors for a while, even though in an overcoat and scarf. 1 went for a stroll the other evening after sun- down. The half-moon was high, and its light was beginning to add a silky lustre to the twilight. 1 noticed the effect on the opening leaf-buds of the larger trees, such as the oaks and black poplars, silhouetted against the sky. The tender foliage shone, as though still wet with birth-moisture, and the mixed light of moon and dusk fell on these frail and dewy surfaces and burnished them to metal, gold against the west, copper toward the zenith. lhe familiar English scene was transformed, for those few passing moments, into an oriental fantasy in enamels.