THE SLEEP OF THE TREES 97 



stand out in defiance of wind and tempest; 

 others, "with long drooping branches, bend 

 meekly to the gale, like the slender shoots by 

 the wayside. 



"An elm tree is always beautiful," says 

 Mrs. Charles, "but to me it becomes more 

 so when its branches are free from obscur- 

 ing foliage. . . . Look up through the top of a 

 typical ehn on a morning when everything is 

 covered with a frozen mist. Y-ou will see the 

 tree in all of its exquisite beauty. The misty 

 lace-work of the small twigs is accentuated 

 against the sky, and the white blanket on the 

 ground completes -the beautiful picture." 



Ilow conspicuouisly the majestic hickories 

 stand out in the winter woods! They are 

 stately in summer, but when thrown in black 

 relief against a white world, their beauty is 

 truly imposing. The walnuts and chestnuts re- 

 veal to the full their sturdy, spreading habits. 

 The oak waves its mighty, gnarled arms, beau- 

 tiful in its ruggedness and strength of purpose. 

 The maple stands a model of grace and symme- 

 try. The white birch answers to the poet 's call 

 as "the Lady of the Woods"; while the ash is 

 the ' ' Venus of the forest. ' ' The young fir trees 

 are such admirable types of primness, standing 

 staunch and straight, here -and there, that many 



