102 IN WINTER. 



the light, I do not know which, the " varmint " 

 made straightway for the ample skirts of the 

 old lady, followed by the dog, and, in a second, 

 skunk, dog, lady, and lantern were one indistin- 

 guishable mass, My aunt proved the heroine of 

 the evening, nor did the men object. I often 

 pause at the very spot, and fancy that " the scent 

 of the roses " doth " hang round it still." 



A wood-pile, if it be not too near the house, 

 has many attractions for birds of various kinds, 

 and I am at a loss to know why the whip-poor- 

 will should, of recent years, have forsaken it. 

 Formerly, the first of these birds heard in early 

 spring was that which perched upon the topmost 

 stick and whistled his trisyllabic monologue from 

 dark to dawn. Now they frequent only the re- 

 tired woodland tracts. Various insect-eating 

 birds continually come and go, attracted by the 

 food they find in the decayed wood, but the 

 house-wren remains throughout its summer so- 

 journ here that is, from April to October ; 

 while during the colder months the winter wren 

 takes the other's place. These little brown birds 

 are exceedingly alike in appearance, in habits, 

 and in size, and I shall never forget my commu- 

 nicating the fact that they were not the same to 

 Miles Overfield. It was almost my last conver- 

 sation with him. 



" Not the same ? " he exclaimed. " You 



