XII 



NEW GLEANINGS IN FIELD AND WOOD 



As I saunter through the fields and woods I dis- 

 cover new acts in Nature's drama. They are, 

 however, the old acts, played again and again, 

 which have hitherto escaped my notice, so ab- 

 sorbed have I been in the rise and fall of the cur- 

 tain, and in the entrances and exits of the more 

 familiar players. I count myself fortunate if, dur- 

 ing each season, I detect a few new acts on the vast 

 stage; and as long as I live I expect to cogitate and 

 speculate on the old acts, and keep up my interest 

 in the whole performance. 



I. SUNRISE 



The most impressive moment of the day here in 

 the Catskills is the rising of the sun. From my 

 cot on the porch I see the first flash of his coming. 

 Before that I see his rays glint here and there 

 through the forest trees which give a mane to the 

 mountain crest. The dawn comes very gently. 

 I am usually watching for it. As I gaze I gradually 

 become conscious of a faint luminousness in the 

 eastern sky. This slowly increases and changes to 

 a deep saffron, and then in eight or ten minutes 

 that fades into a light bluish tinge — the gold turns 



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