IRamble 



climbing bittersweet, glowing with its wealth of 

 crimson and gold. All this with abundant sun- 

 shine. What if it is December ? It would be 

 safe to wager there were flowers yet in bloom, I 

 thought, and straightway found dandelions starring 

 the dead grass. 



Determine beforehand whither you will ramble, 

 and make an early start. Sunrise I have always 

 associated with mirth, and melancholy with the 

 sunset. It is reasonable to do so. Be astir at 

 sunrise then, and receive the greeting of that lover 

 of the dawn, the blackcap. Chick-a-dee-dee means 

 " cheerfulness," as he who hears it quickly learns, 

 for the chill of the early hour is thereby tempered. 

 Those who never see the world at such a time 

 have strange ideas of winter. Frost is a gardener 

 of most excellent taste, and when he has encased 

 seed pods and dry grass with crystal all their 

 beauty is restored. 



No walk is so successful as that in which we 

 make a discovery. It may be some trivial matter 

 that we find, but this is of little moment. We have 

 added to our own stock of knowledge, and this is 

 often more pleasant than adding to the world's 

 stock. There is no silly criticism to face, and when 

 the walk is over there is abundance to think about, 

 and the ramble reviewed at night before the and- 

 irons is a repetition of the day's enjoyment. 



When, in the good Colonial days, this was a 

 Quaker settlement and the folks were all neigh - 



