DECEMBER. 303 



such as appeal to the imagination, rather than to the 

 senses, by furnishing matter for studious reflection, and 

 calling up pleasing and poetic images. The man of 

 phlegmatic mind sees, in all these phenomena, nothing 

 but dreariness and desolation ; while to the studious or 

 the imaginative, every form of vegetation on the sur- 

 face of the earth becomes an instructive lesson, or 

 awakens a train of imagery that inspires him, on a win- 

 ter's walk, with a buoyancy not often felt in the balmy 

 days of June. Then does he trace, with unalloyed 

 delight, every green leaf that seems budding out for 

 spring ; and in the general stillness, every sound from 

 abroad has a gladness in its tone, not surpassed by the 

 melodies of a summer morning. 



On these pleasant days of winter, which are of fre- 

 quent occurrence in our variable climate, I often indulge 

 myself in a solitary ramble, taking note of those forms 

 of vegetation that remain unchanged, and of the still 

 greater number that lie folded in hyemal sleep. For 

 such excursions the only proper time is when the earth 

 is free from snow, which, though a beautifier of the 

 prospect, conceals all minute objects that are strewed 

 upon the ground, or that are still feebly vegetating 

 under the protection of the woods. The most promi- 

 nent appearances are the remains of autumnal vegeta- 

 tion. The stalks of the faded asters are still erect, with 

 their downy heads shaking in the breeze, which has 

 already scattered their seeds upon the ground ; and the 

 more conspicuous tufts of the golden-rods are seen in 

 nodding and irregular rows under the fences, or bending 

 over the ice that covers the meadows where they grew. 

 All these are but the faded garlands of nature, that 

 pleasantly remind us of the past festivities of summer, 

 of cheerful toil, or studious recreation. 



