SEPTEMBER. 259 



plunged with the rapturous impetuosity of young 

 deer — those clusters which tempted us to climb, 

 or to crash down the tree that bore them, like 

 many other ambitious mortals destroying to pos- 

 sess — those brown-shellers which came patter- 

 ing down upon our heads — our dinner a la gipsy, 

 and our triumphant march home with our load- 

 ed satchels, these were not merely enjoyed one 

 day, they have filled us on a hundred different 

 occasions with felicitous reflections ! I love a 

 day's excursion into the woods with a choice 

 party with all my soul. Not as many attempt 

 the matter when they would be exceedingly 

 Arcadian — not a formal and formidable Villeg- 

 giatura, an invasion of the silent woods with gigs 

 and post-chaises ; startling the creatures of soli- 

 tude with the flash of scarfs, ribbons and para- 

 sols, with their cloth as ceremoniously spread 

 as for a city feast, their cold collations arranged 

 by conceited livery-servants, their breaking of 

 bottles and obstreperous merriment ; but with 

 souls familiar with the mysteries and spirit of 

 Nature, their simple repast spread under the 

 green boughs by fair hands, and partaken with 

 light and merry hearts prepared to enjoy all 

 that the freshness and beauty of the scene may 

 pour into their bosoms, and what their own so- 

 cial natures will abundantly afford them. With 

 such I have, in past years, enjoyed to perfection 



