212 THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE CHAP, 
loftier than if the whole mountain side is 
visible. The gloom lends a weirdness and 
mystery to the scene, while the flying clouds 
give it additional variety. 
Rain, moreover, adds vividness to the 
colouring. The leaves and grass become a 
brighter green, “every sunburnt rock glows 
into an agate,” and when fine weather returns 
the new snow gives intense brilliance, and 
invests the woods especially with the beauty 
of Fairyland. How often in alpine districts 
does one long “for the wings of a dove,’ more 
thoroughly to enjoy and more completely to 
explore, the mysteries and recesses of the 
mountains. ‘The mind, however, can go, even 
if the body must remain behind. 
Each hour of the day has a beauty of its 
own. ‘The mornings and evenings again glow 
with different and even richer tints. 
In mountain districts the cloud effects are 
brighter and more varied than in flatter 
regions. The morning and evening tints are 
seen to the greatest advantage, and clouds 
floating high in the heavens sometimes glitter 
with the most exquisite iridescent hues 
= 
ee es 
petite, Ai 
1) =o 
