A Foretaste of Autumn 53 



but rather let death come uninvited, and 

 every faft remain clothed and in its right 

 mind of fanciful interpretation. It is a safe 

 course, for no healthy fancy ever yet proved 

 seriously mistaken ; but what of many a 

 dealer in naked fadts ? 



How true this is of birds ! There are 

 anatomists who map the wrinkles on a bird's 

 bones, measure their eggs, and write learned 

 essays on browny-white and whitey-brown, 

 who are all impatience when an amateur 

 speaks of a living bird. The professionals 

 are never mistaken, oh, no ! but they only tell 

 us half the truth. They are content with 

 their soulless anatomy, and let them ; but the 

 despised amateur has another mission, and 

 long before the crack o* doom, if not now, 

 will be held in higher esteem than many an 

 over-presumptuous, self-elected, carping pro- 

 fessor of avian anatomy. 



The almanac gives me no concern when I 

 flourish yarrow-blooms about me. My nose 

 is on duty, not my eyes, to-day, and why 

 have this much-negleled sense of smell if 

 we put it to no better use than as a guide to 

 lead us from unpleasant places ? How few 

 people detect the subtle odors distilled by 



