LEAF AND BRANCH 



storms, will be flying with the winds, heaping 

 in fence-corners and about bushes for the long, 

 long-sleep of decay ; but while the flame-like 

 mantle lasts how supremely glorious its color- 

 ing ! 



The distribution and arrangement of these 

 autumn colors, from some points of view, may 

 not always result in the most perfect color-har- 

 mony. Indeed, the " loudness " of the Hudson 

 Kiver scenery in September has been the com- 

 ment of more than one traveller in the United 

 States ; but this, I fancy, comes from consider- 

 ing the cubes of the mosaic separately instead 

 of regarding the picture as a whole. Looked 

 at in the part, the cold green of the pine may 

 jangle with the scarlet of the maple, the blue 

 of the sky may be out of key with the flaming 

 sumacs along a bare hill-ridge ; and in that way 

 the autumn covering may be analyzed into 

 something like a discord. But nature does not 

 scatter its parts and leave them in any such 

 helpless loneliness. There is just as much har- 

 mony in this pageant costume of the autumn 

 as in the sombre grays and browns of the 

 spring. For the same binding qualities of 

 light and air are present. The autumn haze 

 and the mellow glow from the sun cement all 



