THE FIRST BLUEBIRDS. 39 



ing current. In one pool in the pine woods the 

 floor of the little basin was studded with scarlet 

 partridge berries, surrounded by their rich 

 green leaves. 



The view from the crest of the ledges was well 

 worth a harder climb. Mystic Pond is beautiful 

 in itself, but it is made more so by the Fell coun- 

 try, rugged and snow-laden, rising above it. 

 Winchester, with its many-colored cottages 

 sprinkled over the snow, made a pleasing pic- 

 ture. Beyond pond, village, and the Fells, 

 loomed the distant heights upon which the Dan- 

 vers Asylum showed its gloomy walls. The 

 snow flurries which blurred the distance made 

 the nest of cities along the Charles softer and 

 more picturesque than usual. The ledges are 

 well wooded. Pitch-pines, cedars and a sprin- 

 kling of hardwood cover them. Among these 

 trees were crows, a small hawk, a blue jay, two 

 kinglets, two little brown creepers, and nearly a 

 dozen chickadees. The creepers and two of the 

 chickadees were working together. Both pairs 

 of birds signalled each other constantly. If a 

 creeper flew it told its mate, who soon followed, 

 usually flying to the same tree. The chickadees 

 sometimes went to the same tree also, and seemed 

 to be always within forty or fifty feet of the 

 creepers. 



From this hill, which used to be called Mt. 



