Year: 1859

,, was waked up the other morning In
z very singular manner The birds who hav
o built their nest near my window, and il
d whose welfare have already learned to tax
- great interest, aroused me before my won,
Q ed time by the loud cries and shrieks the,


were uttering over one Of their upaedget


young, which, in attempting some foolhar
dy feat / suppose, had tumbled headlon
1 out of the tree, and was lying helpless Of
| the ground. II was just at break of day
, and was terribly sleepy and not at all dis
, posed to get up but if | waited for my usua
: hour of rising some prowling cat or war.
! dering cur from a neighboring farm hous,
might come along and put an untimely enc
10 brides first excursion from the paterna
premises, so that there was no other alter


native but to dress myselfa and 20 down ant


rescue the youngster, who was by this time


pretty well frightened and seemed sufficient


ly punished for his carelessness and proha


bic disobedience, Having succeeded in


placing him in position Of safety, appa-


rently to his own great satisfaction, and the
relief OF his parents whose gratitude know


| merited, l proceeded to tuke a morning


walk, which ! enjoyed SO much that l Sc


cretly determined to steal away from my


friends that day and spend few hours il


solitude.


Accordingly, just after dinner, slipped


around back of the bowling alley, which


stands on the bank of the Sciota, walked


leisurely along until was out of sight, and


then hurrying rapidly down the river half


a mile, threw myself into boat which |


knew was there waiting for me | thought


the thing very oleverly done and took great


credit to myself for my adroitness, and as


pushed out from shore, l fairly chuckled OF


the thought of the inquiries which would


be made for me, and the surprise which
would.be manifested at my absence at tht


little picnic we were going to have up il
the grove that afternoon. There is an ex-
perience you can have nowhere but in sOli-


tude. You are tired of society altogether
you do net want to see any body, talk to any


body or hear any body, but you desire to be


alone, away of by yourself, where you can


forget that there is any other person in ex-


istence. Ego et me, are all you care about
having any thing to do with, and the mood


they are in iS generally 80 similar 10 your


own that you will not quarrel together


This is the way felt on the afternoon in
question, and stood fair chance of being


gratifed. The country along the river is,


in some places, as wild as the primeval for,


ests and as the oars rose and fell in the


crystal stream and the rocky bottom looked


up into my face could have believed that


| was thousand miles beyond the pale Of
civilization. How delightful it is on hot


day to let your boat glide in along close tc
the shore, where the overhanging brancher
, sweep to the water. The deeply shaded
woods, which line the Western bank of the
Scioto, seem, by some natural predisposition


to stretch their great arms over the river Of
if in protection. In one place the branch
es bent down in such regular succession
that for more than half mile l passed


through n leafy arcade, where not single


patch of sunshine bespangled the water
The cool shade and grassy bank offered toe
groat an attraction 10 be resisted, so land.


ed at the foot Of mighty sycamore threw
the chain around one of the roots and hav,


ing climbed up the rocky shore, found my
1 self in the midst of an original forest Tht


underbrush was so thick that it was impos.
. sbIe to see more than twenty or thirty feet
The trunks of trees which had fallen years
before, lay rotting un1isturbed, and the
whole wood was peryaded by q solitude as oI


the grave. 1t was oppressive to me, so thai
after penetrating a few hundred feet and


sitting awhile on fallen log looking up in
to the trees, whose matted tops excluded any
glimpse of the sky, | was fain to return to


the river bank again. il was like stepping
from the tomb out into life and daylight and
: felt relief


| threw myself on tho gross and lay for


hours looking at the Aeecy clouds which
were fairly floating up in the blue heavens
The solemn stiffness was unbroken by the
slightest sound. | suppose il was owing to
, the heat of the day, for not even a cricket
was chirping. The universal silence the
aubroken forest benin d me and the deep
+ blue heavens above, were all calculated tC
r inspire the soul with boundless emotion
= and lay dreaming until the fading sunshine
and the long shadows thrown across the wa
ter, warned me of the approach ofthe eve
ming.


released my boat and swept out from un
J der the oyerhanging branches just as th'


sun went down and the shades of night be-
gan to gather round The evening was yer!
. still, and in going up stream nothing could


be heard save the measured splash Of tn,


oars, the eroaking of frogs or the deep boon
?, of the bittern sounding from some sedg,
II shallow. Sunlight had given place to moon
light, before the boat was beached and
'e would have considered the excursion as al
&c extremely pleasant man. had it not been 70


a slight accident which ought perhaps
'e mention. On the way up by an awkward
D. ness altog ether inexcusable upset the bol
'e the consequence Of which was that l wa


not in a very suitable plight to be seen un
es til paid visit to my own a. artments.-
he Could accomplish that successfully, fe'


minutes would remedy every difficulty bu
,e il was discovered, il would spoil the prett
,s little story had framed of my afternoon


Iadvantnras Havino thraaded nv VaV fhr,