A GOOD-BY TO WINTER 



WINTER is not quite done, but it will be 

 by the time this " Clerk " is printed. That 

 is to say, my winter will be done. In this 

 respect, as in many others, I am a conserv- 

 ative. My calendar is of the old school. 

 " There are four seasons in the year 

 spring, summer, autumn or fall, and winter." 

 So we began our school compositions ; and 

 by " spring " we meant the spring months 

 March, April, and May. The tempera- 

 ture might belie the almanac ; there might 

 be "six weeks' sledding in March;" but 

 when March began, spring began. 



And by the way, what a capital subject 

 that was " The Seasons " ! A theme with- 

 out beginning and without end ; a theme to 

 be taken seriously or humorously, in prose 

 or verse; a theme of universal interest. 

 Best of all, there was no difficulty about the 

 first sentence. No need to sit for half an hour 



