DECEMBER OUT-OF-DOORS. 37 



record, "Everybody complaining of the 

 heat; "but as terrestrial matters go, the 

 month was remarkably propitious up to the 

 25th. Then, all without warning, unless 

 possibly from the pimpernel, which nobody 

 heeded, a violent snow-storm descended 

 upon us. Kailway travel and telegraphic 

 communication were seriously interrupted, 

 while from up and down the coast came 

 stories of shipwreck and loss of life. Win- 

 ter was here in earnest ; for the next three 

 months good walking days would be few. 



December opened with a mild gray morn- 

 ing. The snow had already disappeared, 

 leaving only the remains of a drift here and 

 there in the lee of a stone-wall ; the ground 

 was saturated with water; every meadow 

 was like a lake ; and but for the greenness 

 of the fields in a few favored spots, the sea- 

 son might have been late March instead of 

 early December. Of course such hours 

 were never meant to be wasted within doors. 

 So I started out, singing as I went, 



" While God invites, how blest the day ! " 



But the next morning was pleasant likewise ; 

 and the next ; and still the next ; and so the 



