A TEMPEST. 17 



of at least twenty robins flying overhead. They 

 came from the swamp and stopped in the fringe 

 of cedars to frolic and feed. Suddenly a flock 

 of smaller birds joined them, and by the aid of 

 my glass I discovered that they were cedar-birds. 

 For twenty minutes or more this company of 

 fully fifty birds romped in the savin tops, as 

 they do in cherry-trees in summer, the screams 

 of the robins being incessant. Many of the 

 robins came near enough for me to scrutinize 

 their plumage closely. I saw none but male 

 birds among them. The two flocks vanished as 

 suddenly as they came, and I could find no trace 

 of either, although I searched and waited for 

 them more than an hour. These birds were 

 seen on precisely the same spot as the large flock 

 of robins observed January 11. 



Although I did not leave the woods and pas- 

 tures until sunset with its exquisite tints had 

 come, I saw no footprints of any kind in the 

 snow. I wished that I could linger until even- 

 ing and follow the soft tread of rabbits and 

 mice, the moon meanwhile pouring her light 

 into the enchantment of those groves of snow- 

 encumbered trees. 



