where the grouse used to drum ; and there, 

 at the end of the log, 'were signs to tell me 

 tfJHtle fimfhef that it still sometimes rolled off the muffled 

 thunder of the wings above. Here was the 

 break in the wall that the fox used as a run- 

 way; and there -was a crinkly yellow hair 

 caught on a rough rock telling its story 

 mutely. Here was where the pines stood 

 thickest; but they were all cut away now, 

 and the hardwood seeds that had waited so 

 many years under the pines for their chance 

 at the sunlight were shooting up into vigor- 

 ous life at last. And here was the place 

 where the road twisted about to look back 

 on the pretty spot where the shy children 

 lived, with whom I had once made friends. 



They were all gone, and the little house 

 under the ledge was deserted. In one of the 

 tumble-down rooms I found a rag doll beside 

 the cold hearth, and some poor toys on a shelf 

 under a broken window. In the whole lonely 

 forgotten house these were the only things 

 that brought the light to one's face and the 

 moisture to his eyes as he beheld them. All 

 else spoke of ruin and decay ; but these poor 



