A MORNING IN THE NORTH WOODS. 



The electric car left me near the Ten- 

 nessee, — at " Riverview," — and thence I 

 walked into the woods, meaning to make 

 a circuit among the hills, and at my con- 

 venience board an inward-bound car some- 

 where between that point and the city. The 

 weather was of the kind that birds love : 

 warm and still, after heavy showers, with 

 the sun now and then breaking through the 

 clouds. The country was a suburb in its 

 first estate : that is to say, a land company 

 had laid out miles of streets, but as yet there 

 were no houses, and the woods remained un- 

 harmed. That was a very comfortable stage 

 of the business to a man on my errand. 

 The roads gave the visitor convenience of 

 access, — a ready means of moving about 

 with his eyes in the air, — and at the same 

 time, by making the place more open, they 

 made it more birdy; for birds, even the 

 greater part of wood birds, like the borders 

 of a forest better than its darker recesses. 



