16 



UPLAND SHOOTING. 



lovely, whether it is tossed by the crisp mountain breeze 

 or sleeps motionless in a universal calm, so profound that 

 no sound is audible, save, perhaps, 



"The sound of nutshells by the squirrel dropped 

 From some tall beech, fast falling thro' the leaves." 



To all lovers of Nature, these royal autumnal scenes are 

 full of enchantment. The bright river, shining in the 

 mid-day light, and belted in with its girdle of orange, 

 purple, and scarlet foliage, painted by the lavish brush of 

 Autumn, seems to the eye like a mirror of silver set in a 

 frame of clouded gold, studded with effulgent brilliants. 

 Above, leaning against the sky, the rough brown hosts of 

 pine-trees shoot upward their lofty shafts and heavy mass 

 of umbrage, while beneath the ground is moist and russet- 

 stained with the accumulated needles of ages. As the 

 sun shoots its level rays through the open glades and 

 vistas of the wood, it enkindles the myriad sparkles of 

 dew that glisten on grass and thicket. The gossamer 

 feather of the thistle, the flaky down of the milk- weed, 

 and the fine-spun thread of the spider's web ; extended 

 from tree to tree, or floating loose in air, are then all 

 strung with dewy beads of pearls and lucent gems. 

 From tree- top to tree-top, the gossiping blue jays 

 fly merrily past, as if hastening to circulate the morning 

 news; and from grove to grove the cawing crows flap their 

 black pinions, clamoring to their mates. The golden 

 robins, admonished by the chilly airs of the season, are 

 piping their melodious notes in the sunny pastures, as if 

 sounding the warning notes for the flocks to collect for 

 their annual migration. 



Along the breezy surface of rivers, the blue-winged 

 teal and the painted wood-duck are swimming, or dress- 

 ing their plumage, or diving beneath the surface in joy- 

 ous frolic. At times the hollow "honk" of the wild 

 goose will resound like a trumpet high in air, and the 



