108 THE CLERK OF THE WOODS 



over the grass, and take the prospect north- 

 ward. A narrow depression, down which a 

 brook trickled with a pleasant, companion- 

 able noise, as if it were talking to itself, af- 

 forded me shelter from the wind, and at the 

 same time bounded my outlook on either 

 side, as a frame bounds a picture. The hill 

 fell away sharply to the water just beyond 

 my feet, and up and down the inlet gulls 

 were flying. Once, to my pleasure, two 

 black-backed " coffin-bearers " passed, the 

 only ones I was able to discover among the 

 thousands of herring gulls that filled the air 

 and the water, and crowded the sand-bars, 

 the whole day long. Across the blue water 

 were miles of brown marsh, and beyond the 

 marsh rose wooded hills veiled with haze, 

 the bright autumnal colors shining through. 

 Crickets were still musical, buttercups and 

 dandelions starred the turf, and once a yel- 

 low butterfly (Philodice) flitted near. The 

 summer was gone, but here were some of its 

 children to keep it remembered. Titlarks 

 walked daintily about the grass, or balanced 

 themselves upon the boulders, and once I 

 turned my head just in time to see a marsh 



