BEAUTY. 103 
hues to gold, from thence to brightest emerald, 
and on to deepest shades of green. There is 
continual movement too ; for even in the greatest 
heats of Summer, when no breath of air appears 
to stir the foliage of other Trees, there is gentle 
motion in the leaves of Birch and Aspen with 
sparkle of the sheen of their bright foliage. Then 
there is the bloom on the blossoms of Summer— 
blossoms which are the sweet harbingers of the 
fruit, and touch the mind, through the eye, with 
a sense of abstract beauty. 
Then Autumn comes, 
‘With less of sweet perfume, but mellower glory ;’ 
and whilst we have the full perfection of this 
mellow glory in the fruit tinged with richest 
hues of colour, there is splendour in the leaves 
dyed with autumnal tints. How beautiful is 
the autumnal foliage of our woodlands! How 
great is the beneficence of the Creator to bathe 
the falling leaves in glorious colours, so that even 
the sad season of decay may give to the mind a 
new sense of the loveliness of Nature ! 
But Winter comes anon. The brightness of 
