NEW ENGLAND WINTER. 145 



its value in our eyes if we take into account 

 that the three other seasons all depend upon 

 it for their peculiar charms. In the case of 

 spring this dependence is palpable to every 

 one. Berate as we may its backwardness 

 and deceit, muffle ourselves never so pet- 

 tishly against its harsh breath, yea, even 

 deny it all claim to its own proper title, yet 

 anon it gets the better of our discontent, 

 and we thank our stars that we have lived 

 to see again the greening of the grass, and 

 to hear once more the song of a bird. A 

 mild day in March is like a foretaste of 

 heaven ; the first robin seems an angel ; 

 while saxifrage, anemones, and dandelions 

 win kindly notice from many a matter-of- 

 fact countryman who lets all the June roses 

 go by him unregarded. It is pleasures of 

 this kind, natural, wholesome, and univer- 

 sal, that largely make up the total of hu- 

 man happiness. Our instinct for them only 

 strengthens with age. They are like the 

 " divine ideas " of Olympian bards, 



"Which always find us young, 

 And always keep us so." 



All this glory of the revival would be 

 wanting but for the previous months of 



