CHOCORUA IN NOVEMBER . 
195 
sight of the hills which bound the Bearcamp 
valley on the south did Snow again greet my 
eyes, and then it was confined to the highlands. 
My last trip had been such a revel in color 
that I found myself noticing tints more than 
other beauties in the ever-varying landscape 
through which the train flew shuttle-wise. A 
great change had come over the face of nature 
in the fortnight which had fled since my last 
visit. November was written in subdued tones 
where October had burned before. The birch 
groves were no longer filled with pale lambent 
flames. Their yellow leaves had all fallen, and 
their massed twigs needed the full power of the 
sun to show that behind their dull gray shading 
lurked the subdued color of the plum. Even 
darker, and without warm undertones, were 
the alder thickets, more black than gray. The 
larches were still pure gold, wonderful in their 
happy contrast to the pines and spruces. The 
apple-trees retained their full suit of leaves, 
sometimes touched with a golden light, often 
perfectly green. Under them the grass was 
generally as verdant as in spring. Barberries 
hung in dense masses in their bushes; the 
American holly berries blazed with scarlet, and 
here and there in the dull forest a gleam of 
crimson told of a blueberry or amelanchier bush. 
As the train whirled across wood-paths, they 
