WINTER SUNSHINE. 



13 



shrubs shine in the sun like rubies and coral. The 

 crows fly high above the earth as they do only on such 

 days, forms of ebony floating across the azure, and' 

 the buzzards look like kingly birds, sailing round and 

 round. 



Or it may be later in the season, well into Decem- 

 ber. The days are equally bright, but a little more 

 rugged. The mornings are ushered in by an immense 

 spectrum thrown upon the eastern sky. A broad bar 

 of red and orange lies along the low horizon, sur- 

 mounted by an expanse of color in which green strug- 

 gles with yellow and blue with green half the way to* 

 the zenith. By and by the red and orange spread up- 

 ward and grow dim, the spectrum fades and the sky be- 

 comes suffused with yellow white light, and in a moment 

 the fiery scintillations of the sun begin to break across, 

 the Maryland hills. Then before long the mists and 1 

 vapors uprise like the breath of a giant army, and for 

 an hour or two one is reminded of a November morn- 

 ing in England. But by mid-forenoon the only trace 

 of the obscurity that remains is a slight haze, and the 

 day is indeed a summons and a challenge to come- 

 forth. If the October days were a cordial like the sub- 

 acids of fruit, these are a tonic like the wine of iron. 

 Drink deep or be careful how you taste this December 

 vintage. The first sip may chill, but a full draught 

 warms and invigorates. No loitering by the brooks or 

 in the woods now, but spirited, rugged walking along 

 the public highway. The sunbeams are welcome now. 



