JUNE. 157 



same whirling flight, they soon descend again to the 

 earth, and commence anew their responsive chirping. 

 These alternate visits to the earth and the skies are 

 continued for several hours. There is nothing very 

 musical in the chirping of these birds; and their war 

 bling in the heavens, when they have reached the sum 

 mit of their ascent, is only a somewhat monotonous 

 succession of sounds. But when, at this later time of 

 life, I chance to hear a repetition of their notes, the 

 whole bright page of youthful adventure is placed 

 vividly before my mind. It is only at such times, that 

 we feel the full influence of c.ertain sounds of nature, in 

 hallowing the period of manhood, with a recollection of 

 early pleasures, and a renewal of those feelings, that 

 come upon the soul like a fresh breeze and the 

 sound of gurgling waters to the weary and thirsty 

 traveller. 



The evenings are now so delightful that it seems 

 like imprisonment to remain within doors. Odors, 

 sights, and sounds are at present so grateful and tran 

 quillizing in their effects upon the mind, and so sugges 

 tive of all the bright period of youth, that they cannot 

 be regarded as the mere pleasures of sense. The sweet 

 emanations from beds of ripening strawberries, from, 

 plats of pinks and violets, from groves of flowering lin 

 den-trees, full of myriads of humming insects, from 

 meadows odoriferous with clover, and sweet-scented 

 grasses, all wafted in succession with every little shift 

 ing of the wind, breathe upon us one endless variety 

 of fragrance. Then the perfect velvety softness of 

 the evening air, 'the various melodies that come from 

 every nook, tree, rock, dell, and fountain ; the notes of 

 birds, the chirping of insects, the hum of bees, the 

 rustling of aspen leaves, the bubbling of fountains, the 



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