FROM A NEW ENGLAND HILLSIDE, 



XVII. 



A NOT ungentle touch upon the shoulder 

 brought me to myself, and to a realization 

 of the fact that there was an outside world, 

 and I found the conductor standing quietly 

 by my side in that expectant attitude which 

 demands recognition. 



I was speeding on my way homeward, 

 with a heavy burden lifted from my mind, 

 but with a leaden weight resting upon my 

 weary eyelids, after long night watches. 

 But how great a contrast in these weights ! 

 A glance from the car-window fully awak 

 ened me. The spotless heaven smiled back 

 upon the rollicking fruit trees, bursting 

 everywhere into blossom, as into tumultuous 

 laughter ; the rich green of the pastures, 

 and the softer shades of the various trees 

 of the wood vied with each other in their 

 effort to refresh the eye ; there were the 

 meadows, 



with daisies pied, and violets blue, 



excepting that it was still too early for the 

 daisies, at least for the common white- 



