THE HOME FIRESIDE 



In the chill days and evenings that fall 

 first in the interim between winter and 

 summer camping, the man who makes 

 his outings for sport and pleasure must 

 content himself by his own fireside, 

 whose constant flame burns throughout 

 the year. 



Well may he be content when the un- 

 tempered winds of March howl like a 

 legion of wolves at his door, snow and 

 sleet pelt roof and pane with a continu- 

 ous volley from the lowering sky, or 

 when the chilly silence of the last win- 

 ter nights is broken by the sharp crack 

 of frozen trees and timbers, as if a hid- 

 den band of riflemen were besieging 

 the house. Well may he be content, 

 then, with the snug corner of his own 

 hearthstone, around which are gathered 

 the good wife, the children, and his camp 

 companions, the dogs. 



Better than the camp, is this cosy com- 

 fort in days and nights such as these, or 

 in those that fall within that unnamed 

 season that lies between winter and 

 spring, when, if one stirs abroad, his feet 

 have sorry choice between saturated 

 snow and oozy mould, — a dismal season 

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