SOUNDS FROM TREES. 327 



weather, there is likewise an expression of melancholy in 

 its tones when more severely agitated, that forebodes a 

 general stirring of the winds as they come up from the 

 gathering-place of the storm. 



I have spoken only of those sounds from trees which 

 are caused by the action of the winds upon their leaves 

 and branches. But there are incidental sounds belonging 

 to the woods, which are modified so as to produce feelings 

 awakened by no other situation. It is in the deep still- 

 ness of the forest, and over spacious and uninhabited plains, 

 that we feel most sensibly the peculiar effect of bells, 

 whether it be the solemn peal of a bell from a church 

 tower or the tinkle of a cow-bell that reminds us of 

 simple rural life. The ordinary toll of bells is much more 

 impressive than a chime in these solitudes, because the- 

 artificial melody of the chime does not so agreeably har- 

 monize with natural sounds. 



In winter the sounds from trees, except in a pine wood, 

 are greatly modified by the absence of foliage. It is at 

 this season, therefore, that we pay the most attention to 

 incidental sounds. When the snow upon the ground has 

 been hardened by repeated freezing and thawing, I have 

 often chosen this occasion for winter rambling in the woods. 

 The loneliness inspired by their seclusion is never so 

 keenly felt as at this season, when there are but few 

 sounds from birds and insects. Then does the stroke 

 of the woodman's axe affect us with the most cheer- 

 ful emotions. It reminds us of the presence of other 

 human beings in the wood, and enlivens the solitude, as 

 the sight of a little cottage in a wilderness affords the 

 traveller a sensation of the joys of home. 



The reverberations of the forest are most remarkable in 

 lonely places, where the silence is favorable to their dis- 

 tinctness. It is by means of echoes that Nature appropri- 

 ates all artificial sounds, and makes them a part of her 



