NIGHTFALL IN THE FOREST. 141 



the view and so spoils the wonderfully majestic and 

 solemn scene we have described above and yet vistas 

 of this kind, of marvellous beauty, are frequently to 

 be witnessed, from the top of a declivity or rocky 

 eminence, or other point of vantage, where the spectator 

 can see down a ravine or stretch of forest extending 

 below, where the eye ranges above the underwood, 

 yet beneath the great canopy of forest which towers 

 high above all. The contrast between the tender green 

 of the ferns and undergrowth, and the dark sprays of 

 the pines above, is often exceedingly beautiful, and 

 sometimes a position of this kind, if the wind is favourable, 

 is not a bad place for observing the movements of 

 game, and perhaps getting a shot at deer or other 

 creatures. The neighbourhood of lakes or streams is 

 however perhaps generally the best for the gunner; 

 and some of the sheets of water nestling in the bosom 

 of the forest, with the amphitheatre of dark pines 

 reflected in their glassy surface, are often scenes of 

 exquitise beauty and tranquil repose. Not unfrequently 

 small companies of water birds may be seen floating 

 on their surface, and on a still evening the plaintive 

 cry of the loon, or the cooing of wild pigeons is heard ; 

 while the rises of many fish testify to the numerous 

 shoals of the finny tribe which their waters enclose. 



But soon the lengthening shadows of the evening 

 warn us that the labour of the day is drawing to a 

 close, and that we must needs prepare for the night, 

 wherein the Scripture reminds us that "no man can 

 work. " * These figurative words of the Divine Spirit 

 come home with special force to the traveller in the 

 pathless forest regions, where moving about by night 



* St. John, IX. 4. 



