SEPTEMBER 



17 



Belonging to a genus which is remarkable for 

 the beautiful form of its leaves, I suspect that some 

 scarlet-oak leaves surpass those of all other oaks in 

 the rich and wild beauty of their outlines. . . . 



Stand under this tree and see how finely its 

 leaves are cut against the sky, as it were, only 

 a few sharp points extending from a mid-rib. They 

 look like double, treble, or quadruple crosses. 

 They are far more ethereal than the less deeply 



scalloped oak-leaves. 



THOKEAU: Autumnal Tints. 



18 



As I sit there, I see the shadow of a hawk flying 

 above and behind me. I think I see more hawks 

 nowadays. Perhaps it is both because the young 

 are grown and their food, the small birds, are fly- 

 ing in flocks and are abundant. I need only sit 

 still a few minutes on any spot which overlooks 

 the river meadows before I see some black circling 

 mote beating along the meadow's edge, now lost 

 for a moment as it turns edgewise in a peculiar 

 light, now reappearing farther or nearer. 



THOREAU: Autumn. 



