114 Editorial Miscellany. 



to awake in the morning to a scene like this ! It is as if a myriad of 

 rainbows were loosed through the tree-tops; as if summer's golden purple 

 and crimson had been fused in the alembic of the west, and poured back, 

 in a new deluge of light and color, over the wilderness; it is as if every 

 leaf on these countless trees had been painted to out-flush the tulip ; as 

 if by some electric miracle the dyes of the earth's heart had struck 

 upward, and her crystals, ores and sapphires, hyacinths and rubies, had 

 let forth their imprisoned colors to mount through the roots of the 

 forests, reanimating the perishing leaves and reveling an hour in their 

 bravery. 



Hudson, Oct. 1855. 



Of the myriads of men who breathe, live and die surrounded by na- 

 ture's beauteous radiance, it has pleased the beneficent, all-wise Creator 

 to endow but an infinitesimal proportion with the priceless gift of fitness 

 to appreciate and truly love her wondrous beauty. " Since my dear 

 soul was master of her choice, and could of men distinguish her election," 

 such has she " chosen for her own." Pre-eminent among these, stood 

 the loved, lost Downing, in whose coveted society and revered tutelege I had 

 the fortune to spend ten of the pleasantest years of my life. Since the 

 melancholy casualty which deprived us of him forever, I have anxiously 

 watched for the advent of one robed in his mantle, imbued with his spirit, 

 to perpetuate his inspired conceptions, to guide his gem-tipped pen. Al- 

 though numerous works of a kindred nature have appeared since the demise 

 of the author of the Horticullurist, to my ear none of them reflect the 

 echo of the voice that is gone. It was, then, with a feeling of sincere in- 

 terest that I saw heralded the undertaking of one purporting to be a 

 pupil of the master-.spirit of rural adornment in this country. The Gene- 

 sis of your venture, Mr. Reagles, is before me ; and if I be not deceived 

 in my deductions, its budding promise bids fair to ripen into fruitful har- 

 vest, and to attain a peaceful, green old age. There was a feature in Mr. 

 Downing's magazine that I think constituted one of the chief charms of 

 that ever-pleasant serial, and which I have never seen in any subsequent 

 publication. I allude to the comprehensive and cheerfully written critiques 

 subscribed " Jeffrey," to whom was allotted the task of, in every number, 

 recapitulating and commenting upon the articles which composed its pre- 

 decessor. My way of life has fallen into the " sere and yellow leaf;'' and 

 if my seniority invest my opinions with suflicient weight to constitute me 

 Mentor to your youthful enterprise, I should be happy to bold the same 

 relationship to the Revieio as my predecessor, Sir. Jeffrey, did to the 

 Horticulturist. I am, Sir, respectfully yours. 



To C. Reagles. Evelyn. 



