22 UPON THE WOOD ROAD 



the feet like a cushion, and all extremely 

 slippery from the fallen spruce-leaves of 

 many years ; trees growing wherever they 

 could secure foothold ; dead hanging branches 

 and prostrate trunks bristling with jagged 

 points, the whole impenetrable except to 

 wings. It was one of Nature's inimitable 

 wild gardens, 



" An unkempt zone 



Where vines and weeds and spruce-trees intertwine, 

 Safe from the plough." 



Thanks to the difficulties with which it 

 was surrounded and the little temptation it 

 offered for clearing, it was absolutely un- 

 touched by man, excepting here and there in 

 a more practicable spot, where he had made 

 a small inroad. It was a paradise for birds 

 and bird -lovers, though the latter were 

 obliged to content themselves with what they 

 could see on the edge and by looking in. 



Up that delectable path was my morning 

 walk. Along its rugged sides certain ap- 

 proximately level rocks made resting-places 

 on which to pause and look about. The first 

 halt was under a low cedar-tree and in a 

 warbler neighborhood. As soon as I became 



