WEEDS FOR DECORATION 



the wind-blown marsh grasses, the rich brown of the oak leaves, and 

 the rolling green fields of winter grain ? A marble shaft on yonder 

 hilltop gleams for an instant, and the church-spire rises near. The 

 sky is patched with blue, and the old gnarled apple trees along tin- 

 ridge, the tall elms about the farmhouse door, the rows of poplar^ 

 and maples along the village streets stand sharply outlined. A 

 clump of willows by a winding brook appears and disappears. 

 There is a field of feeding cattle in the distance with a generous 

 red barn not far away. How black are the furrows of newly 

 ploughed earth! How yellow the seed-corn hanging under the 

 eaves ! The shadows fly across the open fields pursued by the 

 crows in flocks and more and more the blue sky widens, the clouds 

 grow fleecy and white and small, the sunshine reflects itself in tiny 

 pools and waterways by sunken fences. Can this be grim Novem- 

 ber? 



