Year: 1868




The GlOries OF June and October--the Plea
sures OF Angling, sc.


How much comes of association and


that is the delicious fruit of observation


of temperament, and of time. A brook


is, of itself, an idle little thing; yet il


possesses very varied combinations Of


power, after it has once found its way


through susceptible heart. A tree stands


out statuesquely in the landscape,-simp-


ly tree, with head, stem, leaves and


branches. But we fall into a pleasant


habit of sitting in its shadow, and of 81


lently telling over the stories of our sor-
rows and joys, of our desires and disap-
pointments to the green thatch it builds
above our ds,-and from that day this
tree becomes friend, con6dant, and,
in truth, part of our very selves. .


Out of the twelve months of the year,
june and October are cur especial favor
ties, Perhaps October is fuller of what
are really deep delights, the atmosphere
then having an infusion-as the skyey
cope has a coloring,--of that genuinely
spiritual quality which rains down for the
soul the true mama of nourishment. The
sights and sounds of delicious June are
possibly more sensuous than those of
dreamy October the earth, the sky, wa
ters, birds, trees, buds,-all are express
sive of the emphasis, of promise and that
presents its appeal to the heart through
the senses, making it leap up at last, in its
very overplus of joy. But Nature is es-
pecially given to contrasts thus she pro-
duces her finest effects. June being so
wholly distinct from October, its very
name reading like poem in the calendar,
it might be expected that the experiences
it brings freshly every year might be dis
tinct also.


June is the eastern, as October is the
western gate of the Year. She trips in
across carpet Of brightest verdure, the
posts and pillars and arch at the en-
trance clustered with vines and burdened
with roses. She goes out in majestic
pomp and state, canopied with skies that
reflect dazzling hues, the cool green trans
muted now to scarlet and purple, orange
and gold. Yet, June does but throw
October into brighter and more beautiful
relief Each makes a. fine foil for the
other. And, for ourselves, having so
long been in the habit of coupling these
heavenly months, it never falls to our for
tune to enjoy the one without thinking of
the other also. In our heart, they were
always twinned. Their names alone are
like boxes that are compacted with the
fragrance of peculiar delights. 1t is need
less for us moderns to hope to surpass the
underrated ancients in the bestowal of no.
menclatures that are indeed poetic.


A June morning awoke us recently
with the low trill of the earliest bird-the
song of tawny-breast robin, whose little
heart was swelling with love for its house
hold treasures in tree hard by. With
that first gush of song our soul came to
life again. While the mornings gray still
enveloping everything out of door, and the
rustic household continued its sleep of an
innocent care, we made haste to put on our
daily attire, and crept silently down the
stairs and through the passages. Hastily
disposing of cold bite, and swallowing
draught of sweet "night's milk" with the
cream clotting the surface, we pocketed
the well-scoured angle-dogs, shouldered
our birch fishing g-rod, and sailed forth for
little thread of brook whose every way
ward twist and turn had long been perfect
ly familiar. .r


1t cost tramp of a mile or more. The
dust in the country road lay little matted
under the dews, while, as we trudged on,
we caught the ever welcome sound of cat
tie lowing in the pastures, on this side and
the other, impatient for the return of COM
panions that were yardcd the night before.
There was not the lightest breath of a
breeze astir. Now and then, an early bird
fitted across from one roadside covert to
another, offering us the welcome of true
fellowship with a quick chirp and the flirt
of brown wing. The dappled east was
rapidly becoming glori6ed with the colors
that were beginning to pile themselves in
such splendid disarray. AS we pushed ON
up the road, more solitary in thought than
if the hour were that of midnight, it yery
forcibly occurred to us how much they were
the losers who never left their beds out of
the accustomed hours. Here was a little
fresh morning jaunt, now, worth a good
many times the cost, for it took us almost
lnscpsibly into the realm of new experien-
ccs