RAIN AND SNOW 
109 
against the sky are softened by the snow; and 
the ragged promontories, smoothed into heav- 
ing mounds of white, glow with a pinkish hue 
under the sunlight and at evening turn to cold 
purple. 
And how sharp is the contrast where the 
river runs darkly flashing through banks of 
snow that come down and meet the water’s edge ! 
It isa picture in black-and-white. The bend 
and sweep of the lines in the banks are clear- 
cut and sharp, defining on either side the flow 
in and out of the most graceful thing in the 
world—running water. There is nothing more 
rhythmical than the curves made by water, and 
the flowing river in winter is emphasized and 
intensified by its white borders. Sometimes it 
happens that the stream is frozen with clear ice, 
and then from a high point like a bridge, when 
the wind is blowing, one may see little rivulets 
and streams of snow running over the top of 
the ice, following channels, swirling and eddy- 
ing almost like the stream itself except that the 
motion is much faster and more serpentine. 
Very graceful are these little currents of snow. 
They may be seen again chasing, whirling, and 
drifting on the crusted and frozen fields, but 
not so readily as upon a dark background of 
The river 
through 
snow. 
Swirls and 
drifts. 
