Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1870-12-08
Autumn Evenings.
From the Boston Courier.

The time of lighting the first autumn
al fire is always pleasant. The evening
chill even of an Indian summer day in
October, and early November, makes q
fire not luxury, but a necessity. The
early coming on OF evening makes lamp
light necessary, also, at the tea-table.
This household warmth and light after
the out-of-doors heat and blazing sun
shine of the endless days of summer,
impart u sort of quiet, domestic pleas
ure which has peculiar charm. The
outside world at night and morning in
autumn has grown chilly and gloomy,
but the cheerful FIRE and lamplight in
side are antidotes. In late autumn the
fruits of the earth have been gathered
in, everything is snugly stored away UNI
der the matches. We are provisioned
for the winters voyage.
''The squirrels granary is fun
And the harvest's done"
Still many pleasant day of softened,
mitigated warmth and sunshine is in
store for us. This we can enjoy, but to-
wards the evening we find the warm,
well-lighted room pleasant retreat.
The four seasons of the temperate zone
give a variety, spice, and zest to life,
which the eternal sunshine of the trop-
les, or their two seasons of rain and
shine, cannot bestow. In fact, the
dwellers in the temperate zone, and on
the upper sides of the planet are the
most fortunate portion of the earth's
population. They are exempt from the
violent and passionate outbreaks of ma
ture in the tropics, in the form of earth
quakes and typhoons, or if they occa-
sionally experience shake, as we
did lately, or blow, it is soon over,
and has but little of the destructive
wrath of such phenomena iii the
tropical regions. The gradual, dreamy
lapse Of winter into spring is unknown
in earth's central zone The delicate
yerdure of earth, and the fine tremulous
LEAKAGE of the woods, orchard and
groves in temperate climates, give them
in sDring, summer and autumn, an mex
pressible charm, which the ranker, more
luxurious, and gorgeous vegetation of
the tropics does not possess. Who would
part with our New England autumn,
with it's crimson leaves, warm, dreamy
moons, and cool but starry ewes, even for
the orange and lime, and endless days
and nights of eternal summer" of Porto
Rico or the Line2 Certainly no man of
culture and reflective habits and power
For such one our September, October
and even dull November, is season of
constant mental and material enjoy
ment. Even the sober sadness which
the eve takes in from the dun, sombre
woods of November is not without its
charm A
sour sweetest songs are those that tell of ssddest
thoughts
So the melancholy aspect of the declin-
ing year excites a sentiment and ten
derness of feeling which are salutary
and ennobling. We do not blame our
song birds for gathering IN aerial squad
rons over the dry, stubby fields, prepar-
atory to their flight for sojourn in sum-
mer land (although their absence is
always to he regretted), because they
have mono of the winter comforts of roof
and fireside. But for the healthy human
biped, q New England winter should
have no terrors However, the railroad
and steamboat have put us on par with
birds of passage, if We choose to give
She winter months the go by, and prefer
ITO sail TO Porto Iaque,
Far OFT heats through seas to seek.