NOVEMBER. 



A change has lately come over the' face of nature; 

 the bright garniture of field and wood has faded; the 

 leaves have fallen to the ground, and the sun gleams 

 brightly through the naked branches of the trees into 

 the late dark recesses of the forest. In some years the 

 bright hues of autumn remain unseared by frost until 

 November has tarried with us many days. It is then 

 melancholy to observe the change that suddenly takes 

 place in the aspect of the woods after the first wintry 

 night. The longer this fatal blast is deferred, the 

 more sudden and manifest are its effects. The fields 

 to-day may be glowing in the fairest hues of autumnal 

 splendor. One night passes away, — a night of still, 

 freezing cold, depositing a beautiful frostwork on our 

 windows, — and lo ! a complete robe of monotonous 

 brown covers the wide forest and all its colors have 

 vanished. After this frost the leaves fall rapidly from 

 the trees, and the first vigorous wind will nearly disrobe 

 them of their foliage. 



This change is usually more gradual. Slight frosts 

 occur one after another during many successive nights, 

 each adding a browner tint to the foliage and causing the 

 different trees to shed their leaves in natural succession. 

 Though November is the time of the general fall of the 

 leaf, yet many trees cast off their vesture in October. 

 But the flowering season closed with the last of the 

 month. A few asters are still seen in the woods, and 

 here and there on the green southern slopes a violet 



