CHAPTER III. 



OCTOBER THE WITCHING. 



ONCE upon a time, so the old school-book had 

 it, there lived an ass which found cause for 

 discontent in all seasons of the year, and 

 ever was longing for change. In the cool of Winter 

 he yearned for the fire of Spring; increased work in 

 the warmer months turned his thoughts to the 

 Autumn; and so on, until, finally, this strangely 

 human-like philosopher awoke to the conviction that 

 it was well to make the most of whatever joys were 

 to be found amid the pulsing process of the seasons. 



The excellent moral of that little doggerel-verse 

 story was not lost. In one case, indeed, it deepened 

 into a pleasurable puzzle as to which quarter of the 

 year was really the most gracious; and then get- 

 ting down to "sub-species" as to which month of 

 the Spring had the greatest claim on the affections. 

 Paris adjudging the Graces! 



Hosea Biglow, kin-spirit of the lilting Bobolink, 

 made the absorbing discovery that the American 

 Spring "gits everything in tune, an* gives one leap 

 from April into June." It is not so in this land of 

 the sun. The spirit of the Australian Spring is 

 not less thrilling, but is more deliberate shall 



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