AUTUMN WOODS. 



WHEN the golden-rods in field and border have per- 

 ceptibly faded, and we are growing weary of the monotony 

 of summer landscape, autumn, the great limner of the 

 forest, spreads over the earth new and enchanting pic- 

 tures. Dim lights spring up daily among the shadows of 

 the trees, and grove, copse, and thicket suffer a gradual 

 metamorphosis. The woods are illuminated by such an 

 array of colors that their late dark recesses appear to 

 have the brightness of sunshine. Where a few days 

 since there was but a shady obscurity of faded green, 

 there gleams a luminous beauty from myriads of tinted 

 leaves. As the twilight of the year comes on, the trees 

 appear one after another in their new garniture, like the 

 clouds of evening, as sunset deepens into darkness. 



There is no scene in nature more purely delightful than 

 the autumn woods when they have attained the fulness 

 of their splendor. The sentiment of melancholy which 

 is associated with the fall of the leaf increases our sus- 

 ceptibility to be affected by these parting glories of the 

 year. So sweetly blended are the lights and colors in 

 this gorgeous array, that no sense is wearied. The very 

 imperfection of the hues gives a healthful zest to the 

 spectacle, causing it never to weary like the more brilliant 

 colors of a flower-bed. The hues of sunrise are more 

 ethereal and exhilarating ; but there is a sober mellowness 

 in the tints of autumn that inspires the most healthful 

 temper of mind. Far and near, from the wooded hills 

 that display a variegated spectacle of gold, scarlet, and 



