i6o BIRD PARADISE 



this house by the same door that I used before. 

 My favorite way of approach is over the high 

 point of ground on the south side of the old 

 Wicks farm. Here I get a broad view, which 

 puts me into the best possible condition to enter 

 paradise. Then, too, sacred memories throng 

 every foot of the old farm, all closely associated 

 with some revered kinsman, each an ' ' open door ' ' 

 in paradise. By the time I set foot in the temple 

 of the woods, mind and heart are both ready to 

 see the "king in his beauty," and he is always 

 there in his beauty. The robes of summer, which 

 the trees put on and wear so handsomely, had all 

 been taken off, folded and put away in the great 

 open cupboard of the place. 



A stroll in the aisles of Bird Paradise lately 

 was full of autumn sights and sounds. The day 

 was rich in the mellowness of the year and all 

 the wide reaches of the grove were radiant in the 

 quiet beauty of the season. A family of oven 

 birds saluted me, though it was done by protest 

 rather than in the mood of hearty welcome. It 

 was late in the season for the household to be in 

 company together. Something had deferred the 

 annual housecleaning, but for all I could see it 



