WINTRY OUTLOOKS. 9 



son is not changed by the changes of temperature 

 and aspect. Now and then there is what seems 

 a violent change in character. Frost and snow 

 will sometimes reign uninterruptedly for many 

 weeks with exceptional severity, and at other 

 times the character of the weather, during nearly 

 the whole of the season, is more autumnal than 

 winterly. But it may be said that it is not 

 the particular season but the cycle of seasons 

 which makes up Winter in its proper accep- 

 tation. 



Wintry outlooks, therefore, in the view we here 

 adopt, do not mean only scenes of frost and snow 

 and of bleakness and barrenness, of misty air 

 and leaden skies. They mean also blue skies and 

 sunny air ; scenes of beauty in the graceful leaf- 

 less forms — spreading over the landscapes — of 

 deciduous trees ; and the brightness and sparkle 

 of the evergreen loveliness which boon Nature 

 displays in many a nook and angle to maintain 

 perpetual verdure for the comfort and happiness 

 of mankind. 



