THE WILD. 



developments : the elves and fays, the sprites and 

 fairies, the Jack-o'-lanterns, the Will-o'-the-wisps, 

 and llobin-goodfellows, and Banshees,— what are 

 they all but the phenomena of nature, dimly dis- 

 cerned, and attributed by a poetic temperament 

 to beings of unearthly races, but of earthly sym- 

 pathies? The garish day, with its clearness and 

 perfect definition of every object, is far less favour- 

 able for these impressions than night; not only 

 because at the latter season the mind is solem- 

 nised, but also because the obscurity renders 

 visible objects dim and uncertain ; gives to familiar 

 things strange and fantastic forms; and, while the 

 peculiar conditions of the atmosphere render 

 sounds more distinct, these are often of an un- 

 wonted character, vague in their origin, and can- 

 not be corrected by the sense of sight. 



In the forests of Lower Canada and the New 

 England States I have often heard in spring a 

 mysterious sound, of which to this day I know 

 not the author. Soon after night sets in, a metal- 

 lic sound is heard from the most sombre forest 

 swamps, where the spruce and the hemlock give a 

 peculiar density to the woods, known as the 

 ''black growth.'' The sound comes up clear and 

 regular, like the measured tinkle of a cow-bell, or 

 gentle strokes on a piece of metal, or the action of 

 a file upon a saw. It goes on, with intervals of 

 interruption, throughout the hours of darkness. 

 People attribute it to a bird, which they call the 

 whetsaw ; but nobody pretends to have seen it, so 

 that this can only be considered conjecture, 

 though a highly probable one. The monotony 

 and pertinacity of this note had a strange charm 

 for me, increased doubtless by the mystery that 

 hung over it. Night after night, it would be 

 heard in the same spot, invariably the most 

 215 



