252 Clear Skies and Cloudy. 



candid enough to admit the truth of my asser- 

 tion ; strong negative evidence that what I said 

 was true. 



Beyond the entrance to this ancient wood, 

 where grass gives way to patches of gray moss, 

 to sphagnum ; where the water lies in pools, 

 and lichens so wrinkled and dead white they 

 suggest fragments of cast-off skin rather than a 

 living growth ; underbrush, shrubs of a dozen 

 species, and a bewildering array of tree-trunks. 

 The latter are as individual as men upon a 

 crowded street. It is more difficult to find two 

 alike than to note a marked resemblance among 

 people. Then, never to be overlooked, in every 

 sense, is the leafy canopy, effectual against the 

 direct rays of the sun to such degree that a dim 

 but not obscuring light prevails ; one that opens 

 your eyes and leads to quicker perception of 

 the objects crowded about you. Less escapes 

 one's notice now than in the glaring sunshine 

 of the open fields. The white of many a wood- 

 land blossom fairly glows, and every purple or 

 rosy bloom likewise glows with a warmth not 

 common to the flowers of the meadow or the 

 roadside. Dogwood, in May, when the foliage 



