14 &i)e ffiartrcn's Storj?. 



Louder the beaten branches groan and sway ; 

 And fitfully the voice comes once again, 



Across the fields, more faint and far away. 

 Is it the dark bird's wailing backward blown, 

 Or my own heart that cries, " Alone, alone ! " 



The snow is fast retreating despite the raw 

 March winds, though St. Patrick and the vernal 

 equinox have yet to engage in their accustomed 

 brawl. Indeed, St. Patrick never comes in with- 

 out brandishing his' blackthorn. As 'tis an ill 

 wind turns none to good, so the dreaded equi- 

 noctial is not without its advantages. Not hav- 

 ing Blasius for authority, I can not tell why it is 

 so ; nevertheless, the weather-vane of the equi- 

 nox for the three days of its duration is an index 

 to the character of the weather for the succeed- 

 ing two or three months. A puzzling rule of 

 three, no doubt, but why not as probable as that 

 three consecutive white frosts are a never-failing 

 sign of rain ? To be more explicit, the general 

 direction of the wind and character of the weath- 

 er during the several equinoxes would seem to 

 be followed during the greater portion of the 

 next quarter of the year by a like general direc- 

 tion of the wind and character of weather. 



Avant-couriers of spring continue to blos- 

 som diurnally through the post, in the shape of 

 flower and vegetable catalogues. These unfold 



