XV 



THE FALL OF THE YEAR 



THE fine days of autumn are rich in quiet 

 delight. They salve our minds through our 

 senses, and we feel the healing power of Nature. 

 The suggestion of frost in the air gives a spice to 

 exercise and braces the body. From the fallen 

 leaves and rustling brittle herbage there rises a 

 pleasant smell, sometimes antiseptic, sometimes like 

 that of ripe apples. Every day the woods have a 

 deeper flush as the leaves slowly wither, and we saw 

 a wild cherry tree on the edge of the hill which 

 burst into flame when the sunlight struck its red 

 leaves a " burning bush," and no mistake. The 

 children are gathering "brambles," their brightly- 

 colored scarfs and jackets, their red cheeks, their 

 stained lips in pleasant tone with the ripe and 

 ripening berries and with the withering leaves as 

 resplendent as those of the vine. Some bigger 

 boys and girls who had been working all Saturday 

 in the potato field were set free at five o'clock, and 

 it was a pleasant sight when they came bounding 

 over the fence into the road with an alacrity to 

 which the prospect of supper doubtless prompted. 



Compared with spring and early summer, autumn 

 is, of course, a very quiet time in the country; 



111 



