Windfalls 191 



that these Tories were bad men, cruel, and 

 all that ; but, then, you may remember that 

 Somebody who is everywhere is not as black 

 as he is painted, and the same of the loyal 

 subje&s of King George. They had as 

 much at stake as their neighbors, and no 

 one can doubt their bravery. For myself, I 

 rejoice in the Tory blood that tingles to my 

 finger-tips when I think of a certain old 

 uncle, four generations back. 



But let us to more cheerful matters. The 

 wind is gently stirring the topmost leaves, 

 but all the under branches are at rest. The 

 faint rustling of these favored leaves is a 

 pleasant sound, for wind is a great deal more 

 than mere atmosphere in motion. That is 

 quite enough when the motion kills and 

 destroys, but I have naught to do with the 

 pranks of a tempest or devilishness of a tor- 

 nado. I am thankful to have lived beyond 

 their reach, or to have lived, thus far, where 

 mischief is the least that any wind has ac- 

 complished. All else that it can do it has 

 done abundantly. I recall one sunny early 

 autumn day, when with balm, boneset, pen- 

 nyroyal, and spicewood distilling odors that 

 told of every phase of the youth of the 



