SILVER-THAW. 3 



Here, it lies in gentle undulations, swelling and sinking ; 

 there, in little ripples, like the sand of a sea-beach ; here, 

 it stands up like a perpendicular wall ; there, like a coni- 

 cal hil] here, it is a long, deep trench ; there, a flat, over- 

 hanging table ; but one of the most charming of it many- 

 visaged appearances is that presented by a shed or out- 

 house well hung with cobwebs. After a drift, the snow 

 is seen, in greater or less masses, to have attached itself 

 to the cobwebs, and hangs from the rafters and walls, and 

 from corner to corner, in graceful drapery of the purest 

 white, and of the most fantastic shapes. 



The elegant arabesques that the frost forms on our 

 window-panes, and the thin blades and serrated swords 

 of which hoar-frost is composed, are beautiful ; and still 

 more exquisitely charming are the symmetrical six-rayed 

 stars of falling snow, when caught on a dark surface. 

 But I think nothing produced by the magic touch of 

 winter can excel a phenomenon I have often seen in the 

 woods of the transatlantic countries named above, where 

 it is familiarly called silver- thaw. It is caused by rain 

 descending when the stratum of air nearest the earth is 

 below 32 deg., and consequently freezing the instant it 

 touches any object; the ice accumulates with every drop of 

 rain, until a transparent, glassy coating is formed. On the 

 shrubs and trees, the effect is magical, and reminds one of 

 fairy scenes described in oriental fables. Every little twig, 

 every branch, every leaf, every blade of grass is enshrined 

 in crystal ; the whole forest is composed of sparkling, 

 transparent glass, even to the minute leaves of the pines 



