The Birds' Calendar 



peculiarly the sunset season, with all the solemn 

 glories of departing day, rich in its own wealth, 

 but richer in its half-revealments of the future. 

 It is in October that the parting rays of sun- 

 light so grandly stream through the western 

 sky's cathedral windows of richly colored 

 clouds, and an unwonted peace comes with the 

 darkness. Spring seems the fittest season where- 

 in to take up the burden of life, and the close 

 of a bright and cool October day the most fe- 

 licitous moment for the soul's apotheosis. The 

 months of autumn are too glorious for spring- 

 time merriment, but whether they are mournful 

 or not, depends on the reflected mood of one's 

 own heart. 



There is invigoration even in the memory of 

 those scenes which are re-enacted at each return 

 of harvest time : 



The crisp, pure air, the clear and mellow light ; 

 The deep, cool, shady nooks behind the woods ; 

 The showy fringe upon the hem o' the year 

 Of purple asters and the golden-rods ; 

 The spicy smell of apples and wild grapes 

 Along the country-road ; the film of sound 

 Rising from myriad insects in the fields ; 

 The distant chorus of tumultuous crows ; 

 The lowlands white with frost at early morn 

 Among the yellow, brown, and crimson hills. 

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