1 64 "Mature Studied in Berkshire. 



found silence reigned on the mountain, — a silence so 

 great that I heard the leaves rustling to the ground, 

 and the chafe of the twigs as the trees swayed in 

 occasional drafts of the light wind. 



The first faint light of the morning brought us all 

 to our feet and out upon the ledge to greet the 

 dawn. The broad valleys of Berkshire lay beneath 

 us, veiled in grey lights which deepened here and 

 there into darker shadows and the uncertainty of 

 misty draperies. The air was absolutely still. One 

 could hear the crowing of the cocks in the farmyards 

 below, and up from the woods at our feet there rose 

 the matin-song of the thrush. The grey brightened 

 the straw-colour, and then deepened into rosy red, as 

 into stars grew pale and faded one by one. The hills 

 of Berkshire seemed to swim in lakes of mist, whose 

 tides rolled up and broke against the rocky sides of 

 these scattered ranges. As the light grew a freight 

 train went creeping along the Housatonic, leaving a 

 trail of smoke and steam lying almost motionless in 

 the still air for a full mile behind it. 



We sat in silent wonder at this marvellous trans- 

 formation of the earth with the breaking of the 

 day. What process or episode in nature is so as- 

 tounding, so impressive, so awesome ! The change 

 is so gradual yet so swift ; so gentle yet so resist- 

 less ; so unobtrusive yet so majestic ; so imper- 

 ceptible by moments, so absolute in the space of a 

 few short hours. He who sees the day dawn sees 

 the sublimest spectacle in nature. We who assisted 



