44 WARWICK WOODLANDS. 



the stool of a large hemlock, which, being recently cut 

 down, cumbered the woodside with its giant stem, and 

 secured him, with its evergreen top now lowly laid and 

 withering, from the most narrow scrutiny; while I, giving 

 the gallant horse his head, went at a brisk hand-gallop 

 across the firm short turf of the fair sloping hill-side, 

 taking a moderate fence in my stroke, which Peacock 

 cleared in a style that satisfied me Harry had by no means 

 exaggerated his capacity to act as hunter, in lieu of the 

 less glorious occupation, to which in general he was 

 doomed. 



In half a minute more I reached my post, and though 

 an hour passed before I heard the slightest sound betoken- 

 ing the chase, never did I more thoroughly enjoy an hour. 



The loveliness of the whole scene before me — the broad 

 rich sweep of meadowland lying, all bathed in dew, under 

 the pale gray light of an autumnal morning, with groups 

 of cattle couched still between the trees where they had 

 passed the night; the distant hills, veiled partially in 

 mist, partially rearing their round leafy heads toward 

 the brightening sky; and then the various changes of the 

 landscape, as slowly the day broke behind the eastern hill ; 

 and all the various sounds of bird, and beast, and insect, 

 which each succeeding variation of the morning seiwed 

 to call into life as if by magic. First a faint rosy flush 

 stole up the eastern sky, and nearly at the self-same mo- 

 ment, two or three vagrant crows came flapping heavily 

 along, at a height so immeasurable that their harsh voices 

 were by distance modified into a pleasing murmur. And 

 now a little fish jumped in the streamlet; and the splash, 

 trifling as it was, with which he fell back on the quiet 

 surface, half startled me. 



A moment afterward an acron plumped down on my 

 head, and as I looked up, there sat, on a limb not ten 

 feet above me, an impudent rogue of a gray squirrel, half 

 as big as a rabbit, erect upon his haunches, working away 

 at the twin brother of the acorn he had dropped upon 

 my hat to break my reverie, rasping it audibly with his 

 chisel-shaped teeth, and grinning at me just as coolly as 

 though I were a harmless scare-crow. 



When I grew tired of observing him, and looked toward 

 the sky again, behold the western ridge, wliich is far high- 

 er than the eastern hills, had caught upon its summits 



