Year: 1879

1t was most lovely evening 1t wanted
but about half all hour to sundown, and all
was perfectly still. There was not the
slightest sound of anything moving in the
forest except that of the unfrcqucnt flight
of moose bird close by. And so I sat
| watching that most glorious transformation
scene-the change of day into night; saw
the great sun sink slowly down behind the
pine trees; Saw the few clouds that lowered
motionless above ME blaze into the color of
bright Furnished gold; saw the whole at
mosphere become glorious with soft ycl-
low light, gradually dying out as the night
| crept on, till only in the western sky there
fingered faint glow fading into pale,
| cold applc-grecn, against which the pines
stood out as black as midnight and as
sharply defined as though cut out of steel.
AS the darkness dccpened a young crescent
moon shone out pale and Clear with gilt
tcring star little below the lower horn,
and above her another star of lesser magni-
tude. 1t looked as though supernatural
jewcl-a heavenly pendant, two great dla-
mond solitaires and diamond crescent
were hanging in the western sky. After a
while the moon, too, sank behind the trees,
and darkness fell upon the earth. 1 know
OF nothing more enchanting than perfect
ly calm and silent autumnal sunset in the
woods unless it be the sunrise, which to my
mind is more lovely still. Sunset is bcauti-
full, but sad; sunrise is equally beautiful,
and full of life, happiness and hope.
love to watch the stars begin to fade, to sec
the first faint white light clear up tho dark
ness of the eastern sky, and gradually
deepen into the glorious coloring that her
aids the approaching sun. I love to see
n of In al, al,
does, and arouse herself into active, busy
life, to note the insects, birds and beasts
shake off slumber and set about their daily
tasks. Still the sunset is inexpressibly
lovely, and / do not envy the condition and
frame Of mind of man who cannot be as
nearly happy as man can be, when he is
lying comfortably on luxurious and soft
couch, gazing in perfect peace on the glor-
ious scene around him, rejoicing all his
senses, and saturatng himself with the
wonderful beauties Of Northern sunset.
So sat quietly below, while the Indian
swered to the three or four long drawn out
| after a long interval he called again, but the
same perfect, utter silence reigned in the
woods, silence broken only by the melan-





noises that filled my head. It Is extraor-
dinary how small noises become magnificd
when the ear is kept at great tension for
any longth of time, and how the head. be-
comes filled with oil kinds Of fictitious
sounds; and 1t is very remarkable also how
utterly impossible 1t Is to distinguish be-
tween loud noise uttered at a distance and
scarcely audible sound close by After
listening very intently amidst the profound
silence Of a quiet night In the forest for an
hour or 40 the head becomes 80 surcharged
with blood, owing, l presume, to all the
faculties being concentrated on single
sense, that one seems to hear distant voices,
the ringing Of bells and all kinds of strange
and impossible noises. Aman becomes so
nervously alive to the slightest disturbance
OF the almost awful silence Of a; still night
In. the woods that the faintest sound- ----the
cracking Of a minute twig or the fall Of q