ALONG SHORE 



149 



ing the distribution of light, and tingeing the 

 whole coloring of the shore. And the shore is 

 so very easily tinged. The pebbles, shells, and 

 mica sands that go to make the beach, whether 

 wet or dry, respond in coloring to the light. 

 Even the rocks are mellowed by it. Close 

 at hand they may look yellow, brown, or gray, 

 according to their mineral composition. Along 

 the New England coast they are dull yellow, 

 stained with iron-rust, and if one of the little 

 pools lying in a hollow of a rock be examined 

 it will disclose a background of bright orange ; 

 but this local color is not apparent when a jut- 

 ting headland is seen from a distance. A gray 

 light may blend into sobriety the colors of 

 the cliff, the white beach, the dark pines, or a 

 warm-yellow sunlight may enliven them all 

 with a new hue. At twilight pink and rose 

 may spread from sky to water, and from water 

 to sand and rock, until the whole vision is a 

 rosy one. At other times the scene may show 

 a golden, a greenish, or a bluish tinge, depend- 

 ent always on the light. 



Beautiful by day the shore is perhaps even 

 more beautiful, certainly more impressive, by 

 night. The moonlight silvers the tall cliffs 

 until they look like vast fortresses of marble, 



