Smyrna times., 1907-11-13
LanSuaSeO of
The Woods.
BY ETHEL HARRINGTON
Observation-Disclosures.

IL.
pungent odor of cedar. green shoots
and wild pink azaleas. Below the call
OF the robin came the purring of tba
mountain stream, a little to the left
as it crawled over its STONY bed Ian
ping tender mosses on either side and
stirring ferns and tiny white violets
into active growth.
Eliza Jane, seated on a decaying log
her feet deep in dry brown leaves. was
conscious of all this. though her eyes
and fingers We're busy over the writing
PAD resting on her knee. She was writ
ing verses. Back of her consciousness
was a little silent laugh at the foolish
ness of such an occupation for her. a
staid teacher in New England school.
Ten years had she held the position.
Never in all that period had she so
wasted precious hours. 1t was as if the
past had been suddenly recalled.
certain memorable day spent in the
Maine woods seemed by reason of her
present environment but yesterday.
whereas in truth it dated further back
than the mOnOtOnOus grind of school
routine that now enslaved her. The
teacher salved her self respect for such
frivolous impulse with the reminder
that it was vacation time Work of
any sort had been prohibited on pain
of nerves. already severely taxed, fail
ing in the coming winter
She had inscribed the title above her
effusiOn in her neat, stiff writing.
Language of the Woods" and the
simple words. faulty enough as poetry.
were illumined with sincerity. The
language of the woods, unheard for
years. now in a different section of the
country came clear and insistent as on
that other holiday. Again she caught
the murmur of hope in the swish Of
tall naples. drowning the sigh of re-
greet among dark pines. The bridal
white of the dogwOod rose against
cloudless sky. White. wind swayed
anemOnes, great purple viOets and
creeping pOlOgala. thrusting frail
heads high through decaying leaves,
all spoke of imperishable youth and
love. A couple of lines in her little
verses brought a faint tinge of color to
Eliza James pale cheek:
Amid lightning and hailstones and rain,
Came loves kiss in the pine woods of
| Maine.
| She let them remain because, like
an echo of the language of which she
wrote, they seemed to belong here.
Presently the rhymes were completed
and, dropping both pad and pencil into
the basket that she had brought to
carry home such mountain treasures
as she might find, she rose and
stretched her arms with luxurious
abandon. 1t was wonderful to be free
from the cramp and irksome strain
of routine. She breathed long and
deeply of the invigorating air.
81 wonder, Elias, do you, too. remem
Der? But Of course not; you're a mar
l don't myself, except here. where one
feels as if actually coming alive AGAR
after being petrifed. | shall forge
my dignity when l go back. It's only
the language of the woods after ALL"
Eliza Jane laughed half regretfully
1t was not unnatural that the place
should stir sentiment in her. 1t was
the same town to which Elias Smith
had come after their misunderstood
ing, before they quite lost track o.
each other. Once, writing to he
cousin, she casually inquired for he
old friend. But Mrs. Hart answered
that, while she heard of numberles
Smiths, she had yet to come across
one called Elias, which, in her judg
ment, was a mercy. since it was al
ugly name. Scripture or no Scripture
hence when Eliza Jane accepted tn
invitation she had done so confiden
she ran no risk of meeting with he
boy lover
Catching sight through the tangle o
underbrush of a glowing mass o
azaleas, she pushed her way through
eagerly filling her hands. From on
shrub to another she wandered, some
times higher up the mountain side
sometimes dropping back. but Away
adding to her blossoms. When sh
could carry no more Eliza Jane pause
> for breath The flash Of scarlet an
| glossy DldCh VI d l1hd6CA Caught hN
. | eve, and she held herself breathles
so as not to scare him away.
When the green tangle swallowe
t him up she realized her own fatigu
and retraced her steps to find her ba'
ket. Search as she would, she coul
: not come upon it. Back and forth sh
4 walked. now climbing afresh th
: rocky incline, now descending wit
: greater speed. At times stray bits
4 azalea caught on alien shrubs mad
< her realize with disgust that she wa
covering ground already trodden. He
: watch proved the hour late; Dime
o would be over and her cousin anxiou
: at her nonappearance. Of small valil
Z, = in itself. the basket could be easily ~
!. placed. but the little spinster did NJ
relish leaving her inspiration OF II
woods to the mercy Of any strange
passing that way. In the end she we
compelled TODD so.
Usually self possessed, she stan
mered while explaining her misrortuI
on her return. Her cousin paused