THE CHARM OF GARDENS 



all withdrawn ; the shining church turned cold and 

 dark ; the stream forgot to smile ; the birds were silent ; 

 and the gloom of winter dwelt in everything. 



" An evening wind uprose too, and the slighter branches 

 cracked and rattled as they moved, in skeleton dances, 

 to its moaning music. The withering leaves, no longer 

 quiet, hurried to and fro in search of shelter from its 

 chill pursuit ; the labourer unyoked the horses, and, 

 with head bent down, trudged briskly home beside them ; 

 and from the cottage windows lights began to glance 

 and wink upon the darkening fields. 



* * * * * 



" It was small tyranny for a respectable wind to go 

 wreaking its vengeance on such poor creatures as the 

 fallen leaves ; but this wind, happening to come up 

 with a great heap of them just after venting its humour 

 on the insulted Dragon, did so disperse and scatter 

 them that they fled away, pell-mell, some here, some 

 there, rolling over each other, whirling round and round 

 upon their thin edges, taking frantic flights into the 

 air, and playing all manner of extraordinary gambols 

 in the extremity of their distress. Nor was this good 

 enough for its malicious fury ; for not content with 

 driving them abroad, it charged small parties of them, 

 and hunted them into the wheelrights saw-pit, and 

 below the planks and timbers in the yard, and, scatter- 

 ing the sawdust in the air it looked for them under- 

 neath, and when it did meet with any, whew ! how it 

 drove them on and followed on their heels ! 



" The scared leaves only flew the faster for all this, 

 and a giddy chase it was ; for they got into unfre- 

 quented places, where there was no outlet, and where 

 their pursuer kept them eddying round and round at 

 his pleasure ; and they crept under the eaves of houses, 

 and clung tightly to the sides of hayricks like bats ; 



176 



