DECEMBER. 307 



barren places in verdure, and of preserving a grateful 

 remnant of summer beauty, in the dreary places of win- 

 ter's abode. And it is not to be wondered, that, to the 

 fanciful minds of every nation, the woods have always 

 seemed to be peopled with fairy spirits, by whose 

 unseen hands the earth is garlanded with lovely wreaths 

 of verdure, at a time when not a flower is to be found 

 upon the hills or in the meadow. 



Whether we are adapted to nature, or nature to us, 

 it is not to be denied, that on the face of the earth, 

 those appearances established by nature are more con- 

 genial to our feelings than others strictly artificial. The 

 lichen-covered rocks, that form so remarkable a feature 

 of the hiUs surrounding our coast, are far more pleasing 

 to every man's sight than similar rocks without this 

 garniture. All this may be partly attributed to the 

 different associations connected with the two, in our 

 habitual trains of thought; — the one presenting to us 

 the evidence of antiquity, the other only the disagree- 

 able idea of that defacement, so generally attendant on 

 the progress of pioneer settlements. Hence the lichens 

 and mosses, upon the surface of the rocks, have an 

 expression which has always been eagerly copied by 

 the painter, and is associated with many romantic 

 images, like the clambering ivy upon the walls of an 

 ancient ruined tower. 



At this season, when the greater part of the landscape 

 is either covered with snow, or with the seared and 

 brown herbage of winter, this vegetation of the rocks 

 has a singular interest. In summer, the rocks are bald 

 in their appearance, while all around them is fresh and 

 lively. In winter, on the other hand, they are covered 

 with a pale verdure, interspersed with many brilliant 

 colors, while the surrounding surface is a comparative 



