34 



PASTORAL DAYS. 







W 



little, solitary clump, fully spread, and fairly ruddy 



with the cold. Here, too, we found the earliest 



— sprays of the slender maidenhair; that fairy 



frond and loveliest among ferns, with black 



J2*' and lustrous stems, and graceful spread of 



tender gauzy green. 



j?'- Where was the nook in all that hill -side 



woods that we left unsearched in our April 



ramblings ? I recall the " tat," " tat " upon the 



dry carpet of beech leaves, as the delicate 



; ■ „y *§5 x anemone in my hand is dashed by a 



\-v -^ falling drop ! Lost in eager occupation, 



| '>-:' •'"■■• we had not observed the shadow that 



■ ; „;' .„- had stolen through the forest; and now, 



fep . . as we look out through the trees, we 



, > see the steel-blue warning of the com- 



. ^ 



insr shower, and feel the 

 first sust of the tell-tale 



/il- 



breeze — how the 

 lows wave and gleam 

 against the deep gray 

 clouds, so weirdly re- 

 flected in the gliding 

 stream beneath, like an 

 open seam to another ■ 



sky ! See the silvery flashes 

 of that flock of pigeons circling 





AFTER ARBUTUS. 



