248 STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST. 



But there is pleasantness still in a rural excursion, 

 and when the cold mists of dawn have passed away, 

 and the hoarfrost has melted in the warm sunshine, it 

 is my delight to go forth into the fields, to take note of 

 the last beautiful things of summer vegetation, that 

 linger in the threshold of autumn. 



