without other life than what it gains from gleaming in the sun. Now,
into the broad, smooth meadow, as into a lake, capes and headlands put
themselves forth, and shores of firm woodland border it, covered with
variegated foliage, making the contrast so much the stronger of their
height and rough outline with the even spread of the plain. And beyond,
and far away, rises a long, gradual swell of country, covered with an
apparently dense growth of foliage for miles, till the horizon terminates
it; and here and there is a house, or perhaps two, among the contiguity
of trees. Everywhere the trees wear their autumnal dress, so that the
whole landscape is red, russet, orange, and yellow, blending in the
distance into a rich tint of brown-orange, or nearly that,--except the
green expanse so definitely hemmed in by the higher ground.

I took a long walk this morning, going first nearly to Newton, thence
nearly to Brighton, thence to Jamaica Plain, and thence home. It was a
fine morning, with a northwest-wind; cool when facing the wind, but warm
and most genially pleasant in sheltered spots; and warm enough everywhere
while I was in motion. I traversed most of the by-ways which offered
themselves to me; and, passing through one in which there was a double
line of grass between the wheel-tracks and that of the horses' feet, I
came to where had once stood a farm-house, which appeared to have been
recently torn down. Most of the old timber and boards had been carted
away; a pile of it, however, remained. The cellar of the house was
uncovered, and beside it stood the base and middle height of the chimney.
The oven, in which household bread had been baked for daily food, and
puddings and cake and jolly pumpkin-pies for festivals, opened its month,
being deprived of its iron door. The fireplace was close at hand. All
round the site of the house was a pleasant, sunny, green space, with old
fruit-trees in pretty fair condition, though aged. There was a barn,
also aged, but in decent repair; and a ruinous shed, on the corner of