The Tacoma times. [volume] (Tacoma, Wash.) 1903-1949, 1942-10-16
AFTER Many
Years
longfelIo~'s Autumn
And Ours
We See II Best On
A Morning Well
A Few Bits
Picked Up
BY T. 7. SHORT

misty ar hhe a confiagraton. 4
yellowish, smoky haze fills IN,
atmosphere. and q filmy mist lie
like a silver lining on the skv.
The wind il soft and low. 1
watts to us the odor Of forest
leaves. that hang wilted on drip
ping branches. or drop into tn,
stream. Their gorgeous tints ar,
gone. as IL the autumnal rains has
washed them out Orange, yellow
and scarlet, all are changed TO on.
melancholy russell hue.
The birds. too, have taken wing
and have left their roofless dwell.
ings. Not the whistle Of a robin
not the twitter Of an evesdroppine
swallow, not the carol Of one sweet
familiar voice. All gone.
Only the dismal 'cswing of .
crow as he sits and curses thai
the harvest is over; or the chit.
chat Of an idle squirrel. the noisy
denizen Of a hollow tree, the men.
dicant friar of a large parish, the
absolute monarch Of q dozen
The foregoing lines by Henry
W. Longfellow were recalled the
other day on a drive through the
peninsula north of Gig Harbor.
Because the season has not yet
advanced to the particular period
Of which L~ongfellow wrote the
lines, there were still some Of the
gorgeous tints" of orange, yell
low and scarlet, but there was the
haze in the air and the birds were
gone. There was not even "the
dismal cawing Of the crow"
though there were two Of the black
scavengers on the North Bay beach
evidently for the time being quite
contented to be just a couple of
crows.
It is on a morning walk. though,
that one fully appreciates this In
dian summer. There Is the early
sun that Longfellow saw, blazing"
through the misty air" The wind
is-"soft and low" and IL your way
takes you through Wright park
there will not only be the odor of
forest leaves but q saucy squirrel
will set up and scold II you don't
happen to have a peanut In your
pocket.
Besides bringing a realization of
what is taking place as summer
tapers off and nature prepares for
winter, the walk will be good for
your legs and your lungs and help
relieve the transportation load.
And II you're eyes are open and
your heart in tune on these morn
Ing autumn walks, you will expert
ence something of the feeling *
pressed in these verses from Bliss
Autumn Song"
is something IN the
autumn that Is native to my
blood
Touch of manner, hint OF
mood;
And my heart is like a rhyme,
With the velloW and the
purple and the crimson
keeping time.
The scarlet of the NAPLES can
shake me like a cry
Of bugles going by.
And my lonely spirit thrills
To see the frosty asthers like
smoke upon the hills.
is something tn Oc-
tober that sets the gypsy
blood dstir;
We must folloW her,
When from every hM dfIdme,
She calls each vagabond by
name.
Coming and Going
Rotary Gear shift has this quip;
There is not In this country today
one wealthy man who acquired his
wealth by working only eight
hours a day." Mr.. MacWhiggan
suggests there may be some who
acquired their wealth watching
work twelve hours a day.
While figuring the cost Of the
old age pension and other social
security assistance in Washington
Il should be kept in mind that all
this money finds its way into the
tills Of the butcher. and the gro
Gerry and drygoods dealer. 1t helps
the volume Of trade.
The tougher the United Nations
make II for the Japanese
In the Solomon islands and the
Aleutians the less danger that the
fight will be brought home 10
Sound
Be glad Of life because II gives
you the chance 70 love and 70 work
and TO play and TO look up At the
stars. = Henry Van Dyke
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