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bourhood in the months of July> August, and Sep- 

 tember ? How gorgeous and rivetting to the imagi- 

 nation? The sun, perchance, is wheeling behind 

 the mountains. Already his broad shade begins to 

 fall down upon the plain. The side of the hill is 

 solemn and sad. Its ridges stand sharp against a 

 fine bright sky. Here and there we espy, by a 

 strained effort of vision, a shepherd and his dog 

 skirting their way among the heath. In various 

 directions of the heavens we see slowly sailing con- 

 tinents of magnificent fleecy mountains Alps and 

 Andes of vapour. One you see cast upon the breast 

 of yonder hill far to the east, while the base is 

 , radiant with the sun. This, too, has its broad sha- 

 dow. Another heavy mass is moving with slow and 

 stately grandeur along the valley, and if we rise to 

 a little more elevated platform, we shall see the 

 brilliant landscape growing dull in its sudden 

 obscuration on its forward line, and growing as sud- 

 denly bright upon its rear trace. How solemnly 

 and majestically that shadow travels up those steep 

 and precipitous mountain sides ; how it scoops down 

 the gorge and valley ; how it moves along the plain ! 

 "What a fine room for study this is ; more glowing 

 and inspiring than if we had had all the invaluable 

 contents of the Vatican library at our elbow. "We 

 have forgotten all about the fish in the stream ; 

 about flies, and lines, and salmon, and trout, and 

 pike, and charr. We have been fishing in the clouds, 

 and brought home a full creel for an intellectual 

 repast, at the end of the day's journey. 



