SOUNDS FROM INANIMATE NATURE. 



Nature in every scene and situation has established 

 sounds which are indicative of their character. The 

 sounds we hear in the hollow dells among the mountains 

 are unlike those of the open plains ; and the echoes of 

 the sea-shore repeat sounds never reverberated in the 

 inland valleys. The murmuring of wind and the rus- 

 tling of foliage, the gurgling of streams and the bubbling 

 of fountains, come to our ears like the music of our early 

 days, accompanied with many agreeable fancies. A 

 stream rolling over a rough declivity, a fountain bubbling 

 up from a subterranean hollow, give sounds suggestive 

 of fragrant summer arbors, of cool retreats and all their 

 delightful accompaniments. 



The most agreeable expression from the noise of waters 

 is their animation. They give life to the scenes around 

 us, like the voices of birds and insects. In winter espe- 

 cially they make an agreeable interruption of the gen- 

 eral stillness, and remind us that during the slumber of 

 all visible things some hidden power is still guiding the 

 operations of Nature. The rapids produced by a small 

 stream flowing over some gentle declivity yield, per- 

 haps, the most expressive sound of waters, save the dis- 

 tant roar of waves as they are dashed upon the sea- 

 shore. The last, being intermittent, is preferable to the 

 roar of a waterfall, which is tiresomely incessant. Nearly 

 all the sounds made by water are agreeable, and cannot 

 be multiplied without increasing the delightful influences 

 of the place and the season. 



