84 SYLVAN WINTEE. 



at the mighty roar of a cataract ; or at the heavy 



impact of a furious sea upon a rock-bound coast. 



Other sounds there are in Nature which impress 



or charm us in a degree determined by the force 



of the operations vfhich give rise to them. The 



impetuous rush of flood-water along the bed of a 



mountain stream ; the whistling and moaning of 



the wind as it moves with a strength which sways 



to and fro the giant forms of trees ; the beating 



of heavy rain, and the hiss of a hail-storm. Or the 



dreamy gurgle of a trickling stream ; the summer 



breeze discoursing leafy music amidst the foliage 



of a wood, and the soft sounds of bird and insect 



life. In her sights, too, Nature can appal or 



charm, as the mood befits her — appal by the lurid 



outburst of a volcano carrying death far and wide 



to the animal and to the plant world ; by the flash 



of the electric fluid charged with death to all 



living things which may lie in its irresistible path 



to the earth, and by the blaze of fire which has 



won the mastery over human efforts at repression 



— and she can charm by the golden or silvery 



light of sun or moon ; by the beauty of form and 



by the wealth of varying colour. 



