AUTUMN 



very nervous and easily disturbed at 

 night. Perhaps the many councils held 

 in this quiet season are to decide the 

 future roos ting-place where they may 

 rest in peace in safety. For a week 

 those golden days continued in pleas- 

 ing warmth, and still another came and 

 went. But for the rising and the set- 

 ting sun, time seemed to have no place 

 nor season, because no change or 

 development was apparent. All things 

 seemed to rest, to dream and be at 

 peace within the Beech Woods. The 

 shadows that crept behind the tree 

 trunks were always long and there 

 seemed to be no noon, only morning 

 and evening light treading softly down 

 the gray archways. A meditative sil- 

 ence brooded over all, a silence elo- 

 quent with rest and contentment after 

 a season of fulfillment. The choristers 

 of yesterday were gone and only the 

 little nests remained now filled with 

 fallen leaves, marking the spot where 

 their Summer work was done. All 

 things within the woods were prepared 

 for a season of rest and sleep, and the 

 golden sun for a brief interval looked 

 backward with a kindly smile. 

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