The Rescue of an Old Place 



slopes, they are the only ones that fail to 

 give satisfaction, and we desire to get the 

 better of them if possible. 



No evergreen is so graceful and sugges- 

 tive of wild woodland ways as this feathery 

 denizen of the forest, that seems to shrink 

 from the companionship of man. The per- 

 fume of its boughs reminds one of camps 

 in the woods, of canoes, of Indian guides, 

 and silent solitudes. For me it has ever a 

 peculiar and elusive charm, and I cannot 

 come in my wanderings upon some majes- 

 tic old tree beside a granite boulder, as it 

 loves to grow, without a thrill compounded 

 of association and admiration. The Hem- 

 lock seems to possess every beauty that a 

 tree can have : its form, whether it be 

 symmetrical with youth, or gnarled and 

 twisted by age, is always impressive and 

 noble ; the murmur of its boughs is ten- 

 derly musical, its fragrance exquisitely 

 wild and aromatic ; its very shyness has a 

 charm that seems to breathe distinction, 

 and, best of all, it is perennially green, so 

 that its blue shadows on the snow give 

 one of the loveliest tones in a winter 

 landscape. 



