208 LIFE OF A TREE. 
the tree’s stem, and again the approach of Winter 
warns the aged trunk to make ready for the airy 
conflicts of the season. The leaves are dropped, 
the young buds are wrapped up warm and close 
in their varnished coatings, and the mighty king 
of the forest stands stripped for the battle, await- 
ing the first onset of the tempestuous time. It 
can look back, perchance, on the victories of half 
a millenium, and has, as we may think, but little 
cause to dread the conflicts yet to come. How 
long it may yet survive we darenotsay. The eye 
that rests upon these pages may be dim with age, 
and the hand that writes crumbled to dust; yet 
the old tree may live and flourish, and year by 
year renew its strength. It seems to set Time 
and Mortality at defiance. Let us wait and 
see. 
