86 - SYLVAN WINTER. 



covered with a white mantle by rapidly- falling 

 flakes. But on a broken surface the points and 

 angles presented by jutting' corners of earth, 

 stone, or rock, and by the stems and twigs of 

 the leafless shrubs which may be growing around, 

 first catch the airy, feathery particles of crystal- 

 lized moisture, and display the beauty of their 

 whiteness by contrasts of colour the sombre 

 colour of rock and earth, of the brown bark of 

 leafless shrubs, or of Winter evergreens. Ere 

 long, however, the persistence of a snow-storm 

 will cover all lowly objects, and drape the earth 

 with a thick and level carpet of white. But 

 above this level uniformity of whiteness, trees will 

 still lift their beautiful heads and present the 

 especial charm and picturesqueness of snow-clad 

 sylvan Winter. 



And how softly and gracefully is the sylvan 

 panorama produced, and how deftly the work is 

 done ! If the wind stirs not to spoil the process, 

 what marvellous fabrics of beauty are built upon 

 every twig ! In ten thousand corners and angles, 

 produced by the extensive ramification of a tree, 

 the white crystalline objects are piled in profusion. 



