FOREST TREES AND FOREST SCENERY 
the coniferous forests are oppressive, at 
least on first acquaintance. Such na- 
tures feel the weight of their gloom and 
lose their own buoyancy of spirit if they 
stay too long within their confines; and 
it is noticeable that even the inhab- 
itants of these lonely retreats are not 
infrequently affected with a reticence 
and a kind of melancholy that im- 
presses the stranger almost like a feel- 
ing of resignation. This peculiar tem- 
perament, however, may be judged too 
hastily, and is understood better after 
a time. It is probably true that the 
familiar and accessible woods of valley 
and plain, where trails and wood-roads 
give us a feeling of security, are more 
attractive and agreeable to most of us; 
yet there is a wonderful charm about 
those dark forests of the mountains 
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