322 STUDIES IN THE FIELD AND FOREST. 



the solitary lake in the valley ; and the dryads, or wood- 

 nymphs, that caused these woodland arbors to rival the 

 green retreats of Elysium. 



In these rural solitudes were assembled all those 

 little harmless animals, which by their motions and 

 frolics seem to give life to the inanimate scenes of 

 nature. Here were not only all the familiar birds that 

 delight in the company of man ; but all the less familiar 

 birds, that love to chant their wild melodies in the hid- 

 ing-pKices of the solitary echoes, might also be heard in 

 the season of song. The red-winged starling, long 

 exiled from our villages, still uttered his melancholy 

 ditty among the willows in the valley, and weaved his 

 nest among the tall rushes that rose out of the water. 

 The ruff-necked grouse beat his muffled drum in the 

 adjoining forest, and the hermit thrush poured forth his 

 indescribable strains, like some voice that had wan- 

 dered from the groves of Idalia. Even in the depth of 

 winter, the hearts of the farmer and his family were 

 cheered by a multitude of merry voices, that seemed to 

 be peculiar to the place. 



This charming spot soon became celebrated in all the 

 country around for its romantic beauties ; and it was 

 eagerly coveted by many people of wealth who were 

 seeking a place of rural retirement. The cottager who 

 had lived here ever since his birth, regarded it with 

 affection and reverence, as his own paternal homestead. 

 But there are not many who can resist the temptation 

 of gold to make a sacrifice either of principle or affec- 

 tion, and the rustic possessor of this little farm was not 

 one of them. He sold it to a man of wealth and cul- 

 tivated taste, whose wife and daughters were unaffected 

 lovers of nature, and who were delighted with the idea 

 of occupying a place that was celebrated as the resort 



