fart 118. 



CHAPTER I. 



THE TERRORS OF THE WINTER. 



'Tis done ! dread Winter spreads his latest glooms, 

 And reigns tremendous o'er the conquered year. 

 How dead the vegetable kingdom lies ! 

 How dumb the tuneful ! Horror wide extends 

 His desolate domain. 



THROUGH the gilded autumn, animate and in- 

 animate nature slowly and peacefully sinks into 

 the lethargy and stupor of winter. Gradually the 

 autumn days become shorter and more boisterous; 

 the night frosts gild the herbage with a silver 

 sheen ; the weather becomes more chilly, and the 

 winds commence to sough mournfully through the 

 woods, bringing down the last remaining leaves in 

 fitful showers. With the earliest signs of winter's 

 advent, even the most venturesome and daring of 

 the summer migrants hurry away to warmer 

 climes, and the fields and woods begin to have 

 a very deserted and cheerless aspect. All the 

 glorious autumn foliage lies in damp, decaying 



