278 OCTOBER. 



orange, red, brown, or yellow, which, mingling 

 with the green of unchanged trees, or the dark- 

 ness of the pine, presents a tout ensemble rich, 

 glowing and splendid. Yet, fine as are our 

 woods at this season, far are they exceeded by 

 the vast forests of America ; the greater variety 

 of trees, and the greater effect of climate, con- 

 spiring to render them in decay gorgeous and 

 beautiful beyond description. 



The woods ! oh solemn are the boundless woods 

 Of the great western World in their decline. 



Hemans. 



And solemn too are our own. The dark and 

 glossy acorns lie scattered in profusion on the 

 ground, the richly coloured and veined horse- 

 chesnuts glow in the midst of their rugged and 

 spiny shells, which have burst open by their fall 

 among the deep and well-defined circle of 

 " broad, palmy leaves," that seem to have been 

 shed at once. The host of birds enjoy a plenti- 

 ful feast of beech-nuts in the tree-tops : and 

 the squirrels beneath them, ruddy as the fallen 

 leaves amongst which they rustle, and full of 

 life and archness, are a beautiful sight. 



THE GREENWOOD. 



The green-wood ! the green-wood ! what bosom but allows 

 The gladness of the charm that dwells in thy pleasant whis- 

 pering boughs. 



