,transcriber's ,note3 ,inconsistent hyphenation and spelling in the original document have been preserved4 ,obvious typographical errors have been corrected4 ,italic text is denoted by underscores4 ,the following alternate spellings were noted1 but retained3 ,shakspeare and ,shakespeare ,minot and ,minott ,,manuscript ,,edition ,,limited ,,to ,,six ,,hundred ,,copies ,,number ,illustration3 ,star-flowers 7,trientalis7 7page #bff7 ,illustration3 ,fair ,haven ,pond from the ,cliffs ,,the ,,writings ,,of ,,henry ,,david ,,thoreau ,,journal ,,edited ,,by ,,bradford ,,torrey ,,ii #ahej-,,september #ae1 #ahea ,,boston ,,and ,,new ,,york ,,houghton ,,mifflin ,,and ,,company ,,mdccccvi ,,copyright #aijf ,,by ,,houghton1 ,,mifflin ,,co4 ,all rights reserved ,,contents ,,chapter ,i4 #ahej 7,t4 #cb-cc7 #c ,the ,religion of the ,hindoos--,narrow ,shoes--,the ,town of ,bedford--,a ,visit to ,haverhill and the ,dustin ,house--,taste in ,eating--,sawing ,buttonwood ,logs--,the ,insanity of ,heroes--,the ,sand ,cherry--,life in a ,small ,meadow--,turtle and ,horned ,pout--,limestone--,the ,energy of ,our ,ancestors--,a ,new ,bosphorus--,sippio ,brister's ,gravestone--,fences--,driving ,cows to ,pasture--,setting ,fire to the ,woods--,the ,incendiary--,the ,view from ,goodman's ,hill in ,sudbury--,a ,burner of ,brush--,tending a ,burning--,the ,regularity of the ,cars--,the ,levels of ,life--,a ,proposed ,method of ,fighting ,wood-,fires--,the ,yezidis--,insects over the ,river--,cows in a ,pasture--,horses ,fighting--,the ,advantages of a ,fire in the ,woods--,walking by ,night--,an ,indian ,squaw--,a ,button from the ,marquis of ,ossoli's ,coat--,bones on the ,beach--,fresh ,water in ,sand-,bars--,rags and ,meanness--,tobacco ,legislation--,an ,ideal ,friend--,conforming--,a ,drunken ,dutchman--,legs as ,compasses--,walks about ,concord--,meadow-,hay--,the ,old ,marlborough ,road--,surface of ,water--,the ,money-,digger--,the ,railroad--,tall ,ambrosia--,the ,ways of ,cows--,flocks of ,birds--,a ,great ,blue ,heron--,the ,elm--,uncle ,charles ,dunbar--,lines on a ,flower growing in the ,middle of the ,road--,a ,beautiful ,heifer--,water the ,only ,drink--,on the ,river--,music--,the ,canadian ,excursion--,living and ,loving one's ,life--,canadian ,houses--,a ,frog in the ,milk--,apostrophe to ,diana--,aground at ,patchogue--,the ,relics of a ,human ,body on the ,beach--,echoes--,sawmills--,begging ,indians--,the ,indian and his ,baskets--,uncle ,charles on the ,dock at ,new ,york--,nature in ,november--,the ,approach of ,winter--,changes made in ,views from the cutting down of ,woods--,cats run ,wild--,the ,growth of a ,wood--,canadian ,greatcoats--,a ,root ,fence--,wild ,apples--,an ,old ,bone--,a ,miser and his ,surveyor--,the ,remains of a ,coal-,pit--,the ,pickerel in the ,brooks--,wildness--,the ,attraction of the ,west--,frightened ,cows--,the ,passing of the ,wild ,apple--,begging ,governments--,old ,maps--,the ,first ,cold ,day--,a ,new ,kind of ,cranberry--,the ,discoveries of the ,unscientific ,man--,the ,sportiveness of ,cattle--,fair ,haven ,pond--,friends and ,acquaintances--,summer ,days in ,winter--,a ,muskrat on the ,ice--,an ,encampment of ,indians at ,concord--,indian ,lore--,indian ,inventions--,instinct in ,women--,the ,little ,irish ,boy--,puffballs--,an ,ocean of ,mist4 ,,chapter ,,ii4 ,december1 #ahej 7,t4 #cc7 #abj ,moss--,circulation in ,plants--,the ,first ,snow--,blue-,curls and ,indigo-weed--,hands and ,feet--,sweet-,gale--,promethea ,cocoons--,frozen-thawed ,apples--,swamps in ,winter--,an ,old-fashioned ,snow-,storm--,a ,shrike with ,prey--,the ,death of ,friends--,notes from ,gordon ,cumming--,blue ,jays4 ,,chapter ,,iii4 ,january-,april1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 #acd ,a ,visit to the ,clinton ,gingham-,mills--,behavior--,the ,knowledge of an ,unlearned ,man--,snow-covered ,hills--,the ,walker ,errant--,sauntering--,freedom--,f4 ,a4 ,michaux on ,certain ,trees--,divine ,communications--,the ,tameness of ,english ,literature--,quotations from ,ovid--,panoramas of the ,rhine and the ,mississippi--,the ,fertility of ,america--,midwinter--,sir ,john ,mandeville on the ,peoples of the ,earth--,a ,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful ,ignorance--,america the ,she ,wolf ,to-day--,the ,gregariousness of ,man--,the ,edge of the ,meadow--,fleets of ,ice-,flakes--,waterfalls within ,us--,the ,ice-,flakes again--,antiquity--,the ,health of the ,farmer--,eating--,the ,fallibility of ,friends--,moral ,freedom--,manners and ,character--,getting a ,living--,actinism--,the ,floating ,crust of the ,meadow--,mythology and ,geology--,law and ,lawlessness--,carrying off ,sims--,governor ,boutwell--,concord and ,slavery--,the ,fugitive ,slave ,law--,slavery and the ,press--,mahomet--,the ,sentence of the ,judge--,the ,servility of ,newspapers--,a ,false ,idea of ,liberty--,real and ,actual ,communications--,the ,cat--,love and ,marriage4 ,,chapter ,,iv4 ,may1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 #ahf ,purity--,an ,optical ,illusion--,a ,mountain ,tarn--,experiments in ,living--,the ,caliph ,omar--,the ,harivansa--,the ,taming of ,beasts and ,men--,the ,study of ,nature--,false ,teeth or a ,false ,conscience--,taking ,ether--,moonlight--,notes from ,michaux--,vegetation and ,human ,life--,the ,development of the ,mind--,the ,mind and its ,roots--,man our ,contemporary--,names--,wild ,apples and their ,names--,an ,inspiring ,regret--,medical ,botany--,the ,designs of ,providence--,true ,sites for ,houses--,the ,view from the ,wayland ,hills--,an ,organ-,grinder--,materia ,medica--,tobacco--,more ,names for ,wild ,apples4 ,,chapter ,v4 ,june1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 #bbd ,a ,visit to ,worcester--,a ,fallen ,oak--,angelica and ,hemlock--,transcendentalism--,the ,past and the ,future--,who boosts ,you8--,f4 ,a4 ,michaux on the ,ohio--,various ,trees--,our ,garments and the ,trees'--,a ,moonlight ,walk--,crossing ,bridges at ,night--,air-,strata at ,night--,a ,book of the ,seasons--,south ,american ,notes from ,darwin's 8,voyage of a ,naturalist0--,moonlight--,breathing--,t he ,shimmering of the ,moon's ,reflections on the ,rippled ,surface of a ,pond--,the ,bittern's ,pumping--,twilight--,music ,out-of-,doors--,the ,whip-poor-will's ,moon--,fireflies--,darwin again--,the ,rapid ,growth of ,grass--,the ,birch the ,surveyor's ,tree--,criticism--,calmness--,the ,wood ,thrush's ,song--,the ,ox's ,badges of ,servitude--,a ,visit to a ,menagerie--,old ,country ,methods of ,farming--,the ,hypthral ,character of the 8,week0--,dog and ,wagon--,haying begun--,the ,fragrance of the ,fir4 ,,chapter ,,vi4 ,july1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc-cd7 #bhj ,travellers heard talking at ,night--,potato-,fields--,hubbard's ,bridge--,moonlight--,sam1 the ,jailer--,intimations of the ,night--,shadows of ,trees--,perez ,blood's ,telescope--,the ,chastity of the ,mind--,a ,rye-,field--,a ,visit to the ,cambridge ,observatory--,charles ,river--,a ,gorgeous ,sunset--,the ,forms of ,clouds--,a ,moonlight ,walk--,the ,light of the ,moon--,waterfalls within ,us--,another ,moonlight ,walk--,eating a ,raw ,turnip--,the ,experience of ,ecstasy--,the ,song ,sparrow--,berry-,picking--,signs of the ,season--,the ,first of the ,dog-,days--,pitch ,pine ,woods--,the ,ideal ,self--,the ,life of the ,spirit--,a ,proposed ,occupation--,the ,river's ,crop--,an ,old ,untravelled ,road--,a ,black ,veil--,a ,human ,footprint--,the ,gentleman--,an ,immortal ,melody--,wild ,pigeons--,mirabeau as a ,highwayman--,ambrosial ,fog--,maimed ,geniuses--,the ,charm of the ,french ,names in ,canada--,walking and ,writing--,swallows--,the ,moods of the ,mind--,drought--,a ,south ,shore ,excursion--,on the ,hingham ,boat--,hull--,the ,cohasset ,shore--,daniel ,webster's ,farm--,a ,mackerel ,schooner--,clark's ,island--,a ,boat ,swamped--,digging ,clams--,the ,rut of the ,sea--,seals in ,plymouth ,harbor--,shells and ,seaweeds--,the ,sailboat--,webster's ,nearest ,neighbor--,a ,hard ,man--,plymouth4 ,,chapter ,,vii4 ,august1 #ahea 7,t4 #cd7 #cfg ,return to ,concord--,an ,ill-managed ,menagerie--,a ,summer ,evening--,a ,musical ,performer--,the ,moon and the ,clouds--,the ,nearness of the ,wild--,travelling--,profitable ,interest--,the ,spread of ,inventions--,the ,inspiring ,melodies--,an ,unheeded ,warning--,sounds of a ,summer ,night--,the ,moon's ,war with the ,clouds--,first ,signs of ,morning--,the ,dawn--,thistle and ,bee--,cool ,weather--,delight in ,nature--,the ,snake in the ,stomach--,the ,haying--,dogs and ,cows--,british ,soldiers in ,canada--,liberty in ,canada--,canadian ,fortifications--,prehensile ,intellects--,the ,poet and his ,moods--,knowing one's ,subject--,the ,revolution of the ,seasons--,rattlesnake-,plantain--,the ,creak of the ,crickets--,botanical ,terms--,the ,cardinal-,flower--,the ,canadian ,feudal ,system--,government--,the ,flowering of the ,vervain--,the ,conspicuous ,flowers of the ,season--,the ,visit to ,canada--,de ,quincey's ,style--,charity and ,almshouses--,men observed as ,animals--,the ,price ,farm ,road--,snake and ,toad--,an ,august ,wind--,cutting ,turf--,burning ,brush--,the ,telegraph--,the ,fortress of ,quebec--,a ,faithful ,flower--,potato ,balls--,the ,seal of ,evening--,solitude in ,concord--,the ,names of ,plants4 ,,chapter ,,viii4 ,september1 #ahea 7,t4 #cd7 #ddj ,disease the ,rule of ,existence--,finding one's ,faculties--,telegraphs--,moose-lipped ,words--,cato's ,de ,re ,rustica--,the ,horse and ,man--,health and ,disease--,the ,telegraph ,harp--,walking in ,england--,a ,walk to ,boon's ,pond in ,stow--,the ,farmer and ,his ,oxen--,tempe and ,arcadia--,footpaths for ,poets--,writing on ,many ,subjects--,dammed ,streams--,the ,dog of the ,woods--,j4 ,j4 ,g4 ,wilkinson--,fastidiousness--,a ,lake by ,moonlight--,a ,formalist--,the ,fullness of ,life--,creatures of ,institutions--,moments of ,inspiration--,gladness--,a ,september ,evening--,singing heard at ,night--,moonlight on the ,river--,fair ,haven by ,moonlight--,northern ,lights--,soaring ,hawks--,the ,grass and the ,year--,the ,sky at ,night--,a ,factory-,bell--,sunrise--,the ,color of the ,poke--,the ,stone-mason's ,craft--,moral ,effort--,benvenuto ,cellini--,an ,endymion ,sleep--,the ,mountains in the ,horizon--,the ,telegraph ,harp--,perambulating the ,bounds--,a ,pigeon-,place--,an ,elusive ,scent--,the ,cross-leaved ,polygala4 ,,illustrations ,,star-,,flowers 7,,trientalis7 ,frontispiece ,carbon photograph 7page #bff7 ,,fair ,,haven ,,pond ,,from ,,the ,,cliffs ,colored plate ,,fair ,,haven ,,pond ,,from ,,the ,,cliffs #aj ,,november ,,woods #hf ,,first ,,snow #abb ,,midwinter #aej ,,town ,,brook1 ,,plymouth #cfd ,,the ,,journal ,,of ,,henry ,,david ,,thoreau ,,volume ,,ii ,i #ahej 7,t4 #cb-cc7a ,the ,hindoos are more serenely and thoughtfully religious than the ,hebrews4 ,they have perhaps a purer1 more independent and impersonal knowledge of ,god4 ,their religious books describe the first inquisitive and contemplative access to ,god2 the ,hebrew bible a conscientious return1 a grosser and more personal repentance4 ,repentance is not a free and fair highway to ,god4 ,a wise man will dispense with repentance4 ,it is shocking and passionate4 ,god prefers that you approach him thoughtful1 not penitent1 though you are the chief of sinners4 ,it is only by forgetting yourself that you draw near to him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the calmness and gentleness with which the ,hindoo philosophers approach and discourse on forbidden themes is admirable4 ,what extracts from the ,vedas ,i have read fall on me like the light of a higher and purer luminary1 which describes a loftier course through a purer stratum1--free from particulars1 simple1 universal4 ,it rises on me like the full moon after the stars have come out1 wading through some far summer stratum of the sky4 ,the ,vedant teaches how1 8by forsaking religious rites10 the votary may 8obtain purification of mind40 ,one wise sentence is worth the state of ,massachusetts many times over4 ,the ,vedas contain a sensible account of ,god4 ,the religion and philosophy of the ,hebrews are those of a wilder and ruder tribe1 wanting the civility and intellectual refinements and subtlety of the ,hindoos4 99 99 99 99 99 ,man flows at once to ,god as soon as the channel of purity1 physical1 intellectual1 and moral1 is open4 99 99 99 99 99 ,with the ,hindoos virtue is an intellectual exercise1 not a social and practical one4 ,it is a knowing1 not a doing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i do not prefer one religion or philosophy to another4 ,i have no sympathy with the bigotry and ignorance which make transient and partial and puerile distinctions between one man's faith or form of faith and another's1--as ,christian and heathen4 ,i pray to be delivered from narrowness1 partiality1 exaggeration1 bigotry4 ,to the philosopher all sects1 all nations1 are alike4 ,i like ,brahma1 ,hari1 ,buddha1 the ,great ,spirit1 as well as ,god4 ,part of leaf missing here4 ,a page with as true and inevitable and deep a meaning as a hillside1 a book which ,nature shall own as her own flower1 her own leaves2 with whose leaves her own shall rustle in sympathy imperishable and russet2 which shall push out with the skunk-cabbage in the spring4 ,i am not offended by the odor of the skunk in passing by sacred places4#b ,i am invigorated rather4 ,it is a reminiscence of immortality borne on the gale4 ,o thou partial world1 when wilt thou know ,god8 ,i would as soon transplant this vegetable to ,polynesia or to heaven with me as the violet4 ,shoes are commonly too narrow4 ,if you should take off a gentleman's shoes1 you would find that his foot was wider than his shoe4 ,think of his wearing such an engine6 walking in it many miles year after year6 ,a shoe which presses against the sides of the foot is to be condemned4 ,to compress the foot like the ,chinese is as bad as to compress the head like the ,flatheads1 for the head and the foot are one body4 ,the narrow feet1--they greet each other on the two sides of the ,pacific4 ,a sensible man will not follow fashion in this respect1 but reason4 ,better moccasins1 or sandals1 or even bare feet1 than a tight shoe4 ,a wise man will wear a shoe wide and large enough1 shaped somewhat like the foot1 and tied with a leather string1 and so go his way in peace1 letting his foot fall at every step4 ,when your shoe chafes your feet1 put in a mullein leaf4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,i ask for a garment of a particular form1 my tailoress tells me gravely1 8,they do not make them so now10 and ,i find it difficult to get made what ,i want1 simply because she cannot believe that ,i mean what ,i say2 it surpasses her credulity4 ,properly speaking1 my style is as fashionable as theirs4 8,they do not make them so now10 as if she quoted the ,fates6 ,i am for a moment absorbed in thought1 thinking1 wondering who they are1 where they live4 ,it is some ,oak ,hall1 ,o call1 ,o4 ,k41 all correct establishment which she knows but ,i do not4 ,oliver ,cromwell4 ,i emphasize and in imagination italicize each word separately of that sentence to come at the meaning of it4#c 99 99 99 99 99 ,or you may walk into the foreign land of ,bedford1 where not even yet1 after four or five1 or even seven or eight1 miles1 does the sky shut down1 but the airy and crystal dome of heaven arches high over all1 when you did not suspect that there was so much daylight under its crystal dome1 and from the hill eastward perchance see the small town of ,bedford standing stately on the crest of a hill like some city of ,belgrade with one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants4 ,i wonder if ,mr4 ,fitch lives there among them4 ,how many noble men and women must have their abode there6 ,so it seems1--,i trust that so it is1--but ,i did not go into ,bedford that time4 ,but alas6 ,i have been into a village before now1 and there was not a man of a large soul in it4 ,in what respect was it better than a village of prairie-dogs4#d ,i mean to hint no reproach even by implica-part of leaf torn off4 ,sunday1 ,may #ab1 #ahej1 visited the site of the ,dustin house in the northwest part of ,haverhill1 now but a slight indentation in a corn-field1 three or four feet deep1 with an occasional brick and cellar-stone turned up in plowing4 ,the owner1 ,dick ,kimball1 made much of the corn grown in this hole1 some ears of which were sent to ,philadelphia4 ,the apple tree which is said to have stood north from the house at a considerable distance is gone4 ,a brick house occupied by a descendant is visible from the spot1 and there are old cellar-holes in the neighborhood1 probably the sites of some of the other eight houses which were burned on that day4 ,it is a question with some which is the site of the true ,dustin house4 ,also visited the same day an ancient garrison-house now occupied by ,fred4 ,ayer1 who said it was built one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty years ago by one ,emerson1 and that several oxen were killed by lightning while it was building4 ,there was also a pear tree nearly as old as the house4 ,it was built of larger and thicker and harder brick than are used nowadays1 and on the whole looked more durable and still likely to stand a hundred years4 ,the hard burnt blue-black ends of some of the bricks were so arranged as to checker the outside4 ,he said it was considered the handsomest house in ,haverhill when it was built1 and people used to come up from town some two miles to see it4 ,he thought that they were the original doors which we saw4 ,there were but few windows1 and most of them were about two feet and a half long and a foot or more wide1 only to fire out of4 ,the oven originally projected outside4 ,there were two large fireplaces4 ,i walked into one1 by stooping slightly1 and looked up at the sky4 ,ayer said jokingly that some said they were so made to shoot wild geese as they flew over4 ,the chains and hooks were suspended from a wooden bar high in the chimney4 ,the timbers were of immense size4 ,fourteen vessels in or to be in the port of ,haverhill1 laden with coal1 lumber1 lime1 wood1 and so forth4 ,boys go to the wharf with their fourpences to buy a bundle of laths to make a hen-house2 none elsewhere to be had4 ,saw two or three other garrison-houses4 ,mrs4 ,dustin was an ,emerson1 one of the family for whom ,i surveyed4 ,measured a buttonwood tree in ,haverhill1 one of twenty and more set out about #agci on the banks of the ,merrimack4 ,it was thirteen and eight twelfths feet in circumference at three and a half feet from the ground4 99 99 99 99 99 ,jewett's steam mill is profitable1 because the planing machine alone1 while that is running1 makes shavings and waste enough to feed the engine1 to say nothing of the sawdust from the sawmill2 and the engine had not required the least repair for several years4 ,perhaps1 as there is not so much sawing and planing to be done in ,england1 they therefore may not find steam so cheap as water4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a single gentle rain in the spring makes the grass look many shades greener4 ,it is wisest to live without any definite and recognized object from day to day1--any particular object1--for the world is round1 and we are not to live on a tangent or a radius to the sphere4 ,as an old poet says1 8though man proposeth1 ,god disposeth all40 ,our thoughts are wont to run in muddy or dusty ruts4 ,i too revive as does the grass after rain4 ,we are never so flourishing1 our day is never so fair1 but that the sun may come out a little brighter through mists and we yearn to live a better life4 ,what have we to boast of8 ,we are made the very sewers1 the cloac1 of nature4 ,if the hunter has a taste for mud turtles and muskrats and skunks and other such savage titbits1 the fine lady indulges a taste for some form of potted cheese1 or jelly made of a calf's foot1 or anchovies from over the water1 and they are even4 ,he goes to the mill-pond1 she to her preserve pot4 ,i wonder how he1 ,i wonder how ,i1 can live this slimy1 beastly kind of life1 eating and drinking4#e 99 99 99 99 99 ,the fresh foliage of the woods in ,may1 when the leaves are about as big as a mouse's ear1 putting out like taller grasses and herbs4 ,in all my rambles ,i have seen no landscape which can make me forget ,fair ,haven4 ,i still sit on its ,cliff in a new spring day1 and look over the awakening woods and the river1 and hear the new birds sing1 with the same delight as ever4 ,it is as sweet a mystery to me as ever1 what this world is4 ,fair ,haven ,lake in the south1 with its pine-covered island and its meadows1 the hickories putting out fresh young yellowish leaves1 and the oaks light-grayish ones1 while the oven-bird thrums his sawyer-like strain1 and the chewink rustles through the dry leaves or repeats his jingle on a tree-top1 and the wood thrush1 the genius of the wood1 whistles for the first time his clear and thrilling strain1--it sounds as it did the first time ,i heard it4 ,the sight of these budding woods intoxicates me1--this diet drink4 ,the strong-colored pine1 the grass of trees1 in the midst of which other trees are but as weeds or flowers1--a little exotic4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in the row of buttonwood trees on the banks of the ,merrimack in ,haverhill1 ,i saw that several had been cut down1 probably because of their unsightly appearance1 they all suffering from the prevalent disease which has attacked the buttonwood of late years1 and one large one still resting on its stump where it had fallen4 ,it seemed like a waste of timber or of fuel1 but when ,i inquired about it1 they answered that the millers did not like to saw it4 ,like other ornamental trees which have stood by the roadside for a hundred years1 the inhabitants have been accustomed to fasten their horses to them1 and have driven many spikes into them for this purpose4 ,one man1 having carried some buttonwood logs to mill1 the miller agreed to saw them if he would make good the injury which might be done to his saw4 ,the other agreed to it1 but almost at the first clip they ran on to a spike and broke the saw1 and the owner of the logs cried1 8,stop60 he would have no more sawed4 ,they are difficult to split1 beside1 and make poor timber at best1 being very liable to warp4 ,the 8itinerary distance0 between two points1 a convenient expression4 ,illustration3 ,fair ,haven ,pond from the ,cliffs ,humboldt says1 8,it is still undetermined where life is most abundant3 whether on the earth or in the fathomless depths of the ocean40 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was a mirage1 what in ,sanscrit1 according to ,humboldt1 is called 8the thirst of the gazelle40 99 99 99 99 99 ,nothing memorable was ever accomplished in a prosaic mood of mind4 ,the heroes and discoverers have found true more than was previously believed1 only when they were expecting and dreaming of something more than their contemporaries dreamed of1--when they were in a frame of mind prepared in some measure for the truth4 ,referred to the world's standard1 the hero1 the discoverer1 is insane1 its greatest men are all insane4 ,at first the world does not respect its great men4 ,some rude and simple nations go to the other extreme and reverence all kinds of insanity4 ,humboldt says1 speaking of ,columbus approaching the ,new ,world3 8,the grateful coolness of the evening air1 the ethereal purity of the starry firmament1 the balmy fragrance of flowers1 wafted to him by the land breeze1 all led him to suppose 7as we are told by ,herrera1 in the ,decades 7#e771 that he was approaching the garden of ,eden1 the sacred abode of our first parents4 ,the ,orinoco seemed to him one of the four rivers which1 according to the venerable tradition of the ancient world1 flowed from ,paradise1 to water and divide the surface of the earth1 newly adorned with plants40 ,expeditions for the discovery of ,el ,dorado1 and also of the ,fountain of ,youth1 led to real1 though perhaps not compensatory1 discoveries4#f 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have heard my brother playing on his flute at evening half a mile off through the houses of the village1 every note with perfect distinctness4 ,it seemed a more beautiful communication with me than the sending up of a rocket would have been4 ,so1 if ,i mistake not1 the sound of blasting rocks has been heard from down the river as far as ,lowell1--some twenty miles by its course1--where they were making a deep cut for the railroad4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the sand cherry 7,prunus depressa ,pursh41 ,cerasus pumila ,mx47 grew about my door1 and near the end of ,may enlivened my yard with its umbels arranged cylindrically about its short branches4 ,in the fall1 weighed down with the weight of its large and handsome cherries1 it fell over in wreath-like rays on every side4 ,i tasted them out of compliment to nature1 but ,i never learned to love them4#g ,if the long-continued rains cause the seeds to rot in the ground and destroy the potatoes in the low lands1 they are good for the grass on the uplands1 though the farmers say it is not so sweet4#h 99 99 99 99 99 ,as ,i walked1 ,i was intoxicated with the slight spicy odor of the hickory buds and the bruised bark of the black birch1 and1 in the fall1 the pennyroyal4 ,many a time ,i have expected to find a woodchuck1 or rabbit1 or a gray squirrel1 when it was the ground-robin rustling the leaves4 ,i have been surprised to discover the amount and the various kinds of life which a single shallow swamp will sustain4 ,on the south side of the pond1 not more than a quarter of a mile from it1 is a small meadow of ten or a dozen acres in the woods1 considerably lower than ,walden1 and which by some is thought to be fed by the former by a subterranean outlet1--which is very likely1 for its shores are quite springy and its supply of water is abundant and unfailing1--indeed tradition says that a sawmill once stood over its outlet1 though its whole extent1 including its sources1 is not more than ,i have mentioned1--a meadow through which the ,fitchburg ,railroad passes by a very high causeway1 which required many a carload of sand1 where the laborers for a long time seemed to make no progress1 for the sand settled so much in the night that by morning they were where they were the day before1 and finally the weight of the sand forced upward the adjacent crust of the meadow with the trees on it many feet1 and cracked it for some rods around4 ,it is a wet and springy place throughout the summer1 with a ditch-like channel1 and in one part water stands the year round1 with cat-o'-nine-tails and tussocks and muskrats' cabins rising above it1 where good cranberries may be raked if you are careful to anticipate the frost which visits this cool hollow unexpectedly early4 ,well1 as ,i was saying1 ,i heard a splashing in the shallow and muddy water and stood awhile to observe the cause of it4 ,again and again ,i heard and saw the commotion1 but could not guess the cause of it1--what kind of life had its residence in that insignificant pool4 ,we sat down on the hillside4 ,ere long a muskrat came swimming by as if attracted by the same disturbance1 and then another and another1 till three had passed1 and ,i began to suspect that they were at the bottom of it4 ,still ever and anon ,i observed the same commotion in the waters over the same spot1 and at length ,i observed the snout of some creature slyly raised above the surface after each commotion1 as if to see if it were observed by foes1 and then but a few rods distant ,i saw another snout above the water and began to divine the cause of the disturbance4 ,putting off my shoes and stockings1 ,i crept stealthily down the hill and waded out slowly and noiselessly about a rod from the firm land1 keeping behind the tussocks1 till ,i stood behind the tussock near which ,i had observed the splashing4 ,then1 suddenly stooping over it1 ,i saw through the shallow but muddy water that there was a mud turtle there1 and thrusting in my hand at once caught him by the claw1 and1 quicker than ,i can tell it1 heaved him high and dry ashore2 and there came out with him a large pout just dead and partly devoured1 which he held in his jaws4 ,it was the pout in his flurry and the turtle in his struggles to hold him fast which had created the commotion4 ,there he had lain1 probably buried in the mud at the bottom up to his eyes1 till the pout came sailing over1 and then this musky lagune had put forth in the direction of his ventral fins1 expanding suddenly under the influence of a more than vernal heat1--there are sermons in stones1 aye and mud turtles at the bottoms of the pools1--in the direction of his ventral fins1 his tender white belly1 where he kept no eye2 and the minister squeaked his last4#i ,oh1 what an eye was there1 my countrymen6 buried in mud up to the lids1 meditating on what8 sleepless at the bottom of the pool1 at the top of the bottom1 directed heavenward1 in no danger from motes4 ,pouts expect their foes not from below4 ,suddenly a mud volcano swallowed him up1 seized his midriff2 he fell into those relentless jaws from which there is no escape1 which relax not their hold even in death4#aj ,there the pout might calculate on remaining until nine days after the head was cut off4 ,sculled through ,heywood's shallow meadow1 not thinking of foes1 looking through the water up into the sky4 ,i saw his the turtle's brother sunning and airing his broad back like a ship bottom up which had been scuttled1--foundered at sea4 ,i had no idea that there was so much going on in ,heywood's meadow4 ,the pickerel commonly lie perfectly still at night1 like sticks1 in very shallow water near the shore near a brook's mouth4 ,i have seen a large one with a deep white wound from a spear1 cutting him half in two1 unhealed and unhealable1 fast asleep1 and forked him into my boat4 ,i have struck a pickerel sound asleep and knew that ,i cut him almost in two1 and the next moment heard him go ashore several rods off2 for being thus awakened in their dreams they shoot off with one impulse1 intending only to abandon those parts1 without considering exactly to what places they shall go4 ,one night a small pickerel1 which the boat had probably struck in his sleep1 leaped into the boat and so was secured without a wound4 ,the chub is a soft fish and tastes like boiled brown paper salted4 ,i was as interested in the discovery of limestone as if it had been gold1 and wondered that ,i had never thought of it before4 ,now all things seemed to radiate round limestone1 and ,i saw how the farmers lived near to1 or far from1 a locality of limestone4 ,i detected it sometimes in walls1 and surmised from what parts it was probably carted2 or when ,i looked down into an old deserted well1 ,i detected it in the wall1 and found where the first settlers had quarried it extensively4 ,i read a new page in the history of these parts in the old limestone quarries and kilns where the old settlers found the materials of their houses2 and ,i considered that1 since it was found so profitable even at ,thomaston to burn lime with coal dust1 perchance these quarries might be worked again4#aa ,when the rocks were covered with snow1 ,i even uncovered them with my hands1 that ,i might observe their composition and strata1 and thought myself lucky when the sun had laid one bare for me2 but now that they are all uncovered ,i pass by without noticing them4 ,there is a time for everything4 ,we are never prepared to believe that our ancestors lifted large stones or built thick walls4 ,i find that ,i must have supposed that they built their bank walls of such as a single man could handle4 ,for since we have put their lives behind us we can think of no sufficient motive for such exertion4 ,how can their works be so visible and permanent and themselves so transient8 ,when ,i see a stone which it must have taken many yoke of oxen to move1 lying in a bank wall which was built two hundred years ago1 ,i am curiously surprised1 because it suggests an energy and force of which we have no memorials4 ,where are the traces of the corresponding moral and intellectual energy8 ,i am not prepared to believe that a man lived here so long ago who could elevate into a wall and properly aline a rock of great size and fix it securely1--such an ,archimedes4 ,i walk over the old corn-fields1 it is true1 where the grassy corn-hills still appear in the woods1 but there are no such traces of them there4 ,again1 we are wont to think that our ancestors were all stalwart men1 because only their most enduring works have come down to us4 ,i think that the man who lifted so large a rock in the course of his ordinary work should have had a still larger for his monument4 ,i noticed a singular instance of ventriloquism to-day in a male chewink singing on the top of a young oak4 ,it was difficult to believe that the last part of his strain1 the concluding jingle1 did not proceed from a different quarter1 a woodside many rods off4 ,hip-you1 he-he-he-he4 ,it was long before ,i was satisfied that the last part was not the answer of his mate given in exact time4 ,i endeavored to get between the two2 indeed1 ,i seemed to be almost between them already4 ,i have not seen ,walden so high for many years2 it is within four feet of the pond-hole in ,hubbard's woods4 ,the river is higher than it has been at this season for many years4 ,when the far mountains are invisible1 the near ones look the higher4 ,the oldest nature is elastic4 ,i just felt myself raised upon the swell of the eternal ocean1 which came rolling this way to land4 ,when my eye ranges over some thirty miles of this globe's surface1--an eminence green and waving1 with sky and mountains to bound it1--,i am richer than ,crsus4 ,the variously colored blossoms of the shrub oaks now1 in ,may1 hanging gracefully like ear-drops1 or the similar blossoms of the large oaks4 ,i have noticed the effect of a flag set up on a hill in the country4 ,it tames the landscape1 subdues it to itself4 ,the hill looks as if it were a military post4 ,our green1 wild country landscape is gathered under the folds of a flag4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a lively appearance is imparted to the landscape as seen from ,nawshawtuct1 by the flood on the meadows1--by the alternation of land and water1 of green and of light colors4 ,the frequent causeways1 and the hedgerows 787 jutting into the meadows1 and the islands1 have an appearance full of light and life4 ,to-day1 ,may #cast1 a red and white cow1 being uneasy1 broke out of the steam-mill pasture and crossed the bridge and broke into ,elijah ,wood's grounds4 ,when he endeavored to drive her out by the bars1 she boldly took to the water1 wading first through the meadows full of ditches1 and swam across the river1 about forty rods wide at this time1 and landed in her own pasture again4 ,she was a buffalo crossing her ,mississippi4 ,this exploit conferred some dignity on the herd in my eyes1 already dignified1 and reflectedly on the river1 which ,i looked on as a kind of ,bosphorus4 ,i love to see the domestic animals reassert their native rights1--any evidence that they have not lost their original wild habits and vigor4#ab ,there is a sweet wild world which lies along the strain of the wood thrush--the rich intervales which border the stream of its song--more thoroughly genial to my nature than any other4#ac ,the blossoms of the tough and vivacious shrub oak are very handsome4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i visited a retired1 now almost unused1 graveyard in ,lincoln to-day1 where five ,british soldiers lie buried who fell on the #aith ,april1 '#ge4 ,edmund ,wheeler1 grandfather of ,william1 who lived in the old house now pulled down near the present1 went over the next day and carted them to this ground4 ,a few years ago one ,felch1 a phrenologist1 by leave of the selectmen dug up and took away two skulls4 ,the skeletons were very large1 probably those of grenadiers4 ,william ,wheeler1 who was present1 told me this4 ,he said that he had heard old ,mr4 ,child1 who lived opposite1 say that when one soldier was shot he leaped right up his full length out of the ranks and fell dead2 and he1 ,william ,wheeler1 saw a bullet-hole through and through one of the skulls4 ,close by stood a stone with this inscription3-- ,in memory of ,sippio ,brister a man of ,colour who died ,nov #a4 #ahbj t4 #fd4 ,but that is not telling us that he lived4#ad 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was one ,newell1 a tailor1 his neighbor1 who became a ,universalist minister4 ,breed put on his sign3-- ,tailoring and barbering done with speed ,by ,john ,c ,newell ,john ,c ,breed4#ae ,the water was over the turnpike below ,master ,cheney's when ,i returned 7,may #cast1 #ahej74 ,a third of a page torn out here4 that these fences1 to a considerable extent1 will be found to mark natural divisions1 especially if the land is not very minutely divided1--mowing 7upland and meadow7 pasture1 woodland1 and the different kinds of tillage4 ,there will be found in the farmer's motive for setting a fence here or there some conformity to natural limits4 ,these artificial divisions no doubt have the effect of increasing the area and variety to the traveller4 ,these various fields taken together appear more extensive than a single prairie of the same size would4 ,if the divisions corresponded ,a third of a page torn out here4 ,the year has many seasons more than are recognized in the almanac4 ,there is that time about the first of ,june1 the beginning of summer1 when the buttercups blossom in the now luxuriant grass and ,i am first reminded of mowing and of the dairy4 ,every one will have observed different epochs4 ,there is the time when they begin to drive cows to pasture1--about the #bjth of ,may1--observed by the farmer1 but a little arbitrary year by year4 ,cows spend their winters in barns and cow-yards1 their summers in pastures4 ,in summer1 therefore1 they may low with emphasis1 8,to-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new40 ,i sometimes see a neighbor or two united with their boys and hired men to drive their cattle to some far-off country pasture1 fifty or sixty miles distant in ,new ,hampshire1 early in the morning1 with their sticks and dogs4 ,it is a memorable time with the farmers' boys1 and frequently their first journey from home4 ,the herdsman in some mountain pasture is expecting them4 ,and then in the fall1 when they go up to drive them back1 they speculate as to whether ,janet or ,brindle will know them4 ,i heard such a boy exclaim on such an occasion1 when the calf of the spring returned a heifer1 as he stroked her side1 8,she knows me1 father2 she knows me40 ,driven up to be the cattle on a thousand hills4 ,i once set fire to the woods4 ,having set out1 one ,april day1 to go to the sources of ,concord ,river in a boat with a single companion1 meaning to camp on the bank at night or seek a lodging in some neighboring country inn or farmhouse1 we took fishing tackle with us that we might fitly procure our food from the stream1 ,indian-like4 ,at the shoemaker's near the river1 we obtained a match1 which we had forgotten4 ,though it was thus early in the spring1 the river was low1 for there had not been much rain1 and we succeeded in catching a mess of fish sufficient for our dinner before we had left the town1 and by the shores of ,fair ,haven ,pond we proceeded to cook them4 ,the earth was uncommonly dry1 and our fire1 kindled far from the woods in a sunny recess in the hillside on the east of the pond1 suddenly caught the dry grass of the previous year which grew about the stump on which it was kindled4 ,we sprang to extinguish it at first with our hands and feet1 and then we fought it with a board obtained from the boat1 but in a few minutes it was beyond our reach2 being on the side of a hill1 it spread rapidly upward1 through the long1 dry1 wiry grass interspersed with bushes4 8,well1 where will this end80 asked my companion4 ,i saw that it might be bounded by ,well ,meadow ,brook on one side1 but would1 perchance1 go to the village side of the brook4 8,it will go to town10 ,i answered4 ,while my companion took the boat back down the river1 ,i set out through the woods to inform the owners and to raise the town4 ,the fire had already spread a dozen rods on every side and went leaping and crackling wildly and irreclaimably toward the wood4 ,that way went the flames with wild delight1 and we felt that we had no control over the demonic creature to which we had given birth4 ,we had kindled many fires in the woods before1 burning a clear space in the grass1 without ever kindling such a fire as this4 ,as ,i ran toward the town through the woods1 ,i could see the smoke over the woods behind me marking the spot and the progress of the flames4 ,the first farmer whom ,i met driving a team1 after leaving the woods1 inquired the cause of the smoke4 ,i told him4 8,well10 said he1 8it is none of my stuff10 and drove along4 ,the next ,i met was the owner in his field1 with whom ,i returned at once to the woods1 running all the way4 ,i had already run two miles4 ,when at length we got into the neighborhood of the flames1 we met a carpenter who had been hewing timber1 an infirm man who had been driven off by the fire1 fleeing with his axe4 ,the farmer returned to hasten more assistance4 ,i1 who was spent with running1 remained4 ,what could ,i do alone against a front of flame half a mile wide8 ,i walked slowly through the wood to ,fair ,haven ,cliff1 climbed to the highest rock1 and sat down upon it to observe the progress of the flames1 which were rapidly approaching me1 now about a mile distant from the spot where the fire was kindled4 ,presently ,i heard the sound of the distant bell giving the alarm1 and ,i knew that the town was on its way to the scene4 ,hitherto ,i had felt like a guilty person1--nothing but shame and regret4 ,but now ,i settled the matter with myself shortly4 ,i said to myself3 8,who are these men who are said to be the owners of these woods1 and how am ,i related to them8 ,i have set fire to the forest1 but ,i have done no wrong therein1 and now it is as if the lightning had done it4 ,these flames are but consuming their natural food40 7,it has never troubled me from that day to this more than if the lightning had done it4 ,the trivial fishing was all that disturbed me and disturbs me still47 ,so shortly ,i settled it with myself and stood to watch the approaching flames4#af ,it was a glorious spectacle1 and ,i was the only one there to enjoy it4 ,the fire now reached the base of the cliff and then rushed up its sides4 ,the squirrels ran before it in blind haste1 and three pigeons dashed into the midst of the smoke4 ,the flames flashed up the pines to their tops1 as if they were powder4 ,when ,i found ,i was about to be surrounded by the fire1 ,i retreated and joined the forces now arriving from the town4 ,it took us several hours to surround the flames with our hoes and shovels and by back fires subdue them4 ,in the midst of all ,i saw the farmer whom ,i first met1 who had turned indifferently away saying it was none of his stuff1 striving earnestly to save his corded wood1 his stuff1 which the fire had already seized and which it after all consumed4 ,it burned over a hundred acres or more and destroyed much young wood4 ,when ,i returned home late in the day1 with others of my townsmen1 ,i could not help noticing that the crowd who were so ready to condemn the individual who had kindled the fire did not sympathize with the owners of the wood1 but were in fact highly elate and as it were thankful for the opportunity which had afforded them so much sport2 and it was only half a dozen owners1 so called1 though not all of them1 who looked sour or grieved1 and ,i felt that ,i had a deeper interest in the woods1 knew them better and should feel their loss more1 than any or all of them4 ,the farmer whom ,i had first conducted to the woods was obliged to ask me the shortest way back1 through his own lot4 ,why1 then1 should the half-dozen owners and the individuals who set the fire alone feel sorrow for the loss of the wood1 while the rest of the town have their spirits raised8 ,some of the owners1 however1 bore their loss like men1 but other some declared behind my back that ,i was a 8damned rascal20 and a flibbertigibbet or two1 who crowed like the old cock1 shouted some reminiscences of 8burnt woods0 from safe recesses for some years after4 ,i have had nothing to say to any of them4 ,the locomotive engine has since burned over nearly all the same ground and more1 and in some measure blotted out the memory of the previous fire4 ,for a long time after ,i had learned this lesson ,i marvelled that while matches and tinder were contemporaries the world was not consumed2 why the houses that have hearths were not burned before another day2 if the flames were not as hungry now as when ,i waked them4 ,i at once ceased to regard the owners and my own fault1--if fault there was any in the matter1--and attended to the phenomenon before me1 determined to make the most of it4 ,to be sure1 ,i felt a little ashamed when ,i reflected on what a trivial occasion this had happened1 that at the time ,i was no better employed than my townsmen4 ,that night ,i watched the fire1 where some stumps still flamed at midnight in the midst of the blackened waste1 wandering through the woods by myself2 and far in the night ,i threaded my way to the spot where the fire had taken1 and discovered the now broiled fish1--which had been dressed1--scattered over the burnt grass4 ,this has been a cool day1 though the first of summer4 ,the prospect of the meadows from ,lee's ,hill was very fine4 ,i observe that the shadows of the trees are very distinct and heavy in such a day1 falling on the fresh grass4 ,they are as obvious as the trees themselves by mid-afternoon4 ,commonly we do not make much account of the distinct shadows of objects in the landscape4 ,what is bare and unsightly is covered by the water now4 ,the verdure seems to spring directly from its bosom2 there are no stems nor roots4 ,the meadows are so many mirrors reflecting the light1--toward sunset dazzlingly bright4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i visited this afternoon 7,june #c;d7 ,goodman's ,hill in ,sudbury1 going through ,lincoln over ,sherman's ,bridge and ,round ,hill1 and returning through the ,corner4 ,it probably affords the best view of ,concord ,river meadows of any hill4 ,the horizon is very extensive as it is1 and if the top were cleared so that you could get the western view1 it would be one of the most extensive seen from any hill in the county4 ,the most imposing horizons are those which are seen from tops of hills rising out of a river valley4 ,the prospect even from a low hill has something majestic in it in such a case4 ,the landscape is a vast amphitheatre rising to its rim in the horizon4 ,there is a good view of ,lincoln lying high up in among the hills4 ,you see that it is the highest town hereabouts1 and hence its fruit4 ,the river at this time looks as large as the ,hudson4 ,i think that a river-valley town is much the handsomest and largest-featured1--like ,concord and ,lancaster1 for instance1 natural centres4 ,upon the hills of ,bolton1 again1 the height of land between the ,concord and ,nashua1 ,i have seen how the peach flourishes4 ,nobscot1 too1 is quite imposing as seen from the west side of ,goodman's ,hill4 ,on the western side of a continuation of this hill is ,wadsworth's battle-field4#ag ,returning1 ,i saw in ,sudbury twenty-five nests of the new 7cliff87 swallow under the eaves of a barn4 ,they seemed particularly social and loquacious neighbors1 though their voices are rather squeaking4 ,their nests1 built side by side1 looked somewhat like large hornets' nests1 enough so to prove a sort of connection4 ,their activity1 sociability1 and chattiness make them fit pensioners and neighbors of man--summer companions--for the barn-yard4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the last of ,may and the first of ,june the farmers are everywhere planting their corn and beans and potatoes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,to-day1 ,june #dth1 ,i have been tending a burning in the woods4 ,ray was there4 ,it is a pleasant fact that you will know no man long1 however low in the social scale1 however poor1 miserable1 intemperate1 and worthless he may appear to be1 a mere burden to society1 but you will find at last that there is something which he understands and can do better than any other4 ,i was pleased to hear that one man had sent ,ray as the one who had had the most experience in setting fires of any man in ,lincoln4 ,he had experience and skill as a burner of brush4 ,you must burn against the wind always1 and burn slowly4 ,when the fire breaks over the hoed line1 a little system and perseverance will accomplish more toward quelling it than any man would believe4 ,it fortunately happens that the experience acquired is oftentimes worth more than the wages4 ,when a fire breaks out in the woods1 and a man fights it too near and on the side1 in the heat of the moment1 without the systematic coperation of others1 he is disposed to think it a desperate case1 and that this relentless fiend will run through the forest till it is glutted with food2 but let the company rest from their labors a moment1 and then proceed more deliberately and systematically1 giving the fire a wider berth1 and the company will be astonished to find how soon and easily they will subdue it4 ,the woods themselves furnish one of the best weapons with which to contend with the fires that destroy them1--a pitch pine bough4 ,it is the best instrument to thrash it with4 ,there are few men who do not love better to give advice than to give assistance4 ,however large the fire1 let a few men go to work deliberately but perseveringly to rake away the leaves and hoe off the surface of the ground at a convenient distance from the fire1 while others follow with pine boughs to thrash it with when it reaches the line1 and they will finally get round it and subdue it1 and will be astonished at their own success4 ,a man who is about to burn his field in the midst of woods should rake off the leaves and twigs for the breadth of a rod at least1 making no large heaps near the outside1 and then plow around it several furrows and break them up with hoes1 and set his fire early in the morning1 before the wind rises4 ,as ,i was fighting the fire to-day1 in the midst of the roaring and crackling1--for the fire seems to snort like a wild horse1--,i heard from time to time the dying strain1 the last sigh1 the fine1 clear1 shrill scream of agony1 as it were1 of the trees breathing their last1 probably the heated air or the steam escaping from some chink4 ,at first ,i thought it was some bird1 or a dying squirrel's note of anguish1 or steam escaping from the tree4 ,you sometimes hear it on a small scale in the log on the hearth4 ,when a field is burned over1 the squirrels probably go into the ground4 ,how foreign is the yellow pine to the green woods--and what business has it here8 ,the fire stopped within a few inches of a partridge's nest to-day1 ,june #dth1 whom we took off in our hands and found thirteen creamy-colored eggs4 ,i started up a woodcock when ,i went to a rill to drink1 at the westernmost angle of ,r4 ,w4 ,e4's wood-lot4 ,to-night1 ,june #eth1 after a hot day1 ,i hear the first peculiar summer breathing of the frogs4 ,when all is calm1 a small whirlwind will suddenly lift up the blazing leaves and let them fall beyond the line1 and set all the woods in a blaze in a moment4 ,or some slight almost invisible cinder1 seed of fire1 will be wafted from the burnt district on to the dry turf which covers the surface and fills the crevices of many rocks1 and there it will catch as in tinder1 and smoke and smoulder1 perchance1 for half an hour1 heating several square yards of ground where yet no fire is visible1 until it spreads to the leaves and the wind fans it into a blaze4 ,men go to a fire for entertainment4 ,when ,i see how eagerly men will run to a fire1 whether in warm or in cold weather1 by day or by night1 dragging an engine at their heels1 ,i am astonished to perceive how good a purpose the love of excitement is made to serve4 ,what other force1 pray1 what offered pay1 what disinterested neighborliness could ever effect so much8 ,no1 these are boys who are to be dealt with1 and these are the motives that prevail4 ,there is no old man or woman dropping into the grave but covets excitement4 ,yesterday1 when ,i walked to ,goodman's ,hill1 it seemed to me that the atmosphere was never so full of fragrance and spicy odors4 ,there is a great variety in the fragrance of the apple blossoms as well as their tints4 ,some are quite spicy4 ,the air seemed filled with the odor of ripe strawberries1 though it is quite too early for them4 ,the earth was not only fragrant but sweet and spicy to the smell1 reminding us of ,arabian gales and what mariners tell of the spice islands4 ,the first of ,june1 when the lady's-slipper and the wild pink have come out in sunny places on the hillsides1 then the summer is begun according to the clock of the seasons4 ,here it is the #hth of ,june1 and the grass is growing apace4 ,in the front yards of the village they are already beginning to cut it4 ,the fields look luxuriant and verdurous1 but1 as the weather is warmer1 the atmosphere is not so clear4 ,in distant woods the partridge sits on her eggs1 and at evening the frogs begin to dream and boys begin to bathe in the river and ponds4 ,cultivate the habit of early rising4 ,it is unwise to keep the head long on a level with the feet4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the cars come and go with such regularity and precision1 and the whistle and rumble are heard so far1 that town clocks and family clocks are already half dispensed with1 and it is easy to foresee that one extensive well-conducted and orderly institution like a railroad will keep time and order for a whole country4 ,the startings and arrivals of the cars are the epochs in a village day4#ah 99 99 99 99 99 ,not till ,june can the grass be said to be waving in the fields4 ,when the frogs dream1 and the grass waves1 and the buttercups toss their heads1 and the heat disposes to bathe in the ponds and streams1 then is summer begun4 ,june #ith1 #ahej1 ,walden is still rising1 though the rains have ceased and the river has fallen very much4 ,i see the pollen of the pitch pine now beginning to cover the surface of the pond4 ,most of the pines at the north-northwest end have none1 and on some there is only one pollen-bearing flower4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i saw a striped snake which the fire in the woods had killed1 stiffened and partially blackened by the flames1 with its body partly coiled up and raised from the ground1 and its head still erect as if ready to dart out its tongue and strike its foe4 ,no creature can exhibit more venom than a snake1 even when it is not venomous1 strictly speaking4 ,the fire ascended the oak trees very swiftly by the moss which fringed them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it has a singular effect on us when we hear the geologist apply his terms to ,judea1--speak of 8limestone0 and 8blocks of trap and conglomerate1 boulders of sandstone and quartz0 there4 ,or think of a chemical analysis of the water of the ,dead ,sea6 ,the pitch and white pines are two years or more maturing their seed4 ,certain rites are practiced by the ,smrities 7among the ,hindoos7 at the digging of wells4 ,in early times the ,brahmans1 though they were the legislators of ,india1 possessed no executive power and lived in poverty2 yet they were for the most part independent and respected4 ,galbraith's ,math4 ,tables1 ,edinburgh1 #ahcd4 ,for descriptions of instruments he refers to ,jones's edition of ,adam's ,geom4 and ,graphical ,essays1 ,biot's ,trait d',astronomie ,physique1 ,base du ,systme ,mtrique1 ,woodhouse's1 ,vince's1 and ,pearson's ,treatises of ,astronomy4 ,for problems connected with trigonometrical surveying1 to the third volume of ,hutton's ,course of ,math4 by ,dr4 ,o4 ,gregory1 ,baron ,zach's work on the ,attraction of ,mountains1 the ,base du ,systme de ,mtrique ,dcimal1 and ,puissant's ,godesie4 ,olive or red seems the fittest color for a man1 a denizen of the woods4 ,the pale white man6 ,i do not wonder that the ,african pitied him4#ai ,the white pine cones are now two inches long1 curved sickle-like from the topmost branches1 reminding you of the tropical trees which bear their fruit at their heads4#bj ,the life in us is like the water in the river2 it may rise this year higher than ever it was known to before and flood the uplands--even this may be the eventful year--and drown out all our muskrats4#ba ,there are as many strata at different levels of life as there are leaves in a book4 ,most men probably have lived in two or three4 ,when on the higher levels we can remember the lower levels1 but when on the lower we cannot remember the higher4 ,my imagination1 my love and reverence and admiration1 my sense of the miraculous1 is not so excited by any event as by the remembrance of my youth4 ,men talk about ,bible miracles because there is no miracle in their lives4 ,cease to gnaw that crust4 ,there is ripe fruit over your head4 ,woe to him who wants a companion1 for he is unfit to be the companion even of himself4 ,we inspire friendship in men when we have contracted friendship with the gods4 ,when we cease to sympathize with and to be personally related to men1 and begin to be universally related1 then we are capable of inspiring others with the sentiment of love for us4 ,we hug the earth4 ,how rarely we mount6 ,how rarely we climb a tree6 ,we might get a little higher1 methinks4 ,that pine would make us dizzy4 ,you can see the mountains from it as you never did before4#bb ,shall not a man have his spring as well as the plants8 ,the halo around the shadow is visible both morning and evening4#bc 99 99 99 99 99 ,after this and some other fires in the woods which ,i helped to put out1 a more effectual system by which to quell them occurred to me4 ,when the bell rings1 hundreds will run to a fire in the woods without carrying any implement1 and then waste much time after they get there either in doing nothing or what is worse than nothing1 having come mainly out of curiosity1 it being as interesting to see it burn as to put it out4 ,i thought that it would be well if forty or fifty men in every country town should enroll themselves into a company for this purpose and elect suitable officers4 ,the town should provide a sufficient number of rakes1 hoes1 and shovels1 which it should be the duty of certain of the company to convey to the woods in a wagon1 together with the drum1 on the first alarm1 people being unwilling to carry their own tools for fear they will be lost4 ,when the captain or one of the numerous vice-captains arrives1 having inspected the fire and taken his measures1 let him cause the roll to be called1 however the men may be engaged1 and just take a turn or two with his men to form them into sections and see where they are4 ,then he can appoint and equip his rake-men and his hoe-men and his bough-men1 and drop them at the proper places1 always retaining the drummer and a scout2 and when he has learned through his scout that the fire has broken out in a new place1 he1 by beat of drum1 can take up one or two men of each class--as many as can be spared--and repair to the scene of danger4 ,one of my friends suggests instead of the drum some delicious music1 adding that then he would come4 ,it might be well1 to refresh the men when wearied with work1 and cheer them on their return4 ,music is the proper regulator4 99 99 99 99 99 ,so1 far in the ,east1 among the ,yezidis1 or ,worshippers of the ,devil1 so called1 and the ,chaldans1 and so forth1 you may hear these remarkable disputations on doctrinal points4#bd 99 99 99 99 99 ,any reverence1 even for a material thing1 proceeds from an elevation of character4 ,layard1 speaking of the reverence for the sun exhibited by the ,yezidis1 or ,worshippers of the ,devil1 says3 8,they are accustomed to kiss the object on which its first beams fall2 and ,i have frequently1 when travelling in their company at sunrise1 observed them perform this ceremony4 ,for fire1 as symbolic1 they have nearly the same reverence2 they never spit into it1 but frequently pass their hands through the flame1 kiss them1 and rub them over their right eyebrow1 or sometimes over the whole face40 ,who taught the oven-bird to conceal her nest8 ,it is on the ground1 yet out of sight4 ,what cunning there is in nature6 ,no man could have arranged it more artfully for the purpose of concealment4 ,only the escape of the bird betrays it4 ,i observe to-night1 ,june #aeth1 the air over the river by the ,leaning ,hemlocks filled with myriads of newly fledged insects drifting and falling as it were like snowflakes from the maples1 only not so white4 ,now they drift up the stream1 now down1 while the river below is dimpled with the fishes rising to swallow the innumerable insects which have fallen into it and are struggling with it4 ,i saw how ,he fed his fish4 ,they1 swimming in the dark nether atmosphere of the river1 rose lazily to its surface to swallow such swimmers of the light upper atmosphere as sank to its bottom4#be ,i picked up to-day the lower jaw of a hog1 with white and sound teeth and tusks1 which reminded me that there was an animal health and vigor distinct from the spiritual health4 ,this animal succeeded by other means than temperance and purity4#bf ,there are thirty-eight lighthouses in ,massachusetts4 ,the light on the ,highlands of ,neversink is visible the greatest distance1 viz4 thirty miles4 ,there are two there1 one revolving1 one not4 ,the fantastic open light crosses which the limbs of the larch make1 seen against the sky1 of the sky-blue color its foliage4 ,in a swamp where the trees stand up to their knees1 two or three feet deep1 in the fine bushes as in a moss bed4 ,the arbor-vit fans1 rich1 heavy1 elaborate1 like bead-work4 ,june #bj4 ,i can see from my window three or four cows in a pasture on the side of ,fair ,haven ,hill1 a mile and a half distant4 ,there is but one tree in the pasture1 and they are all collected and now reposing in its shade1 which1 as it is early though sultry1 is extended a good way along the ground4 ,it makes a pretty landscape4 ,that must have been an epoch in the history of the cow when they discovered to stand in the shadow of a tree4 ,i wonder if they are wise enough to recline on the north side of it1 that they may not be disturbed so soon4 ,it shows the importance of leaving trees for shade in the pastures as well as for beauty4 ,there is a long black streak1 and in it the cows are collected4 ,how much more they will need this shelter at noon6 ,it is a pleasant life they lead in the summer1--roaming in well-watered pastures1 grazing1 and chewing the cud in the shade1--quite a philosophic life and favorable for contemplation1 not like their pent-up winter life in close and foul barns4 ,if only they could say as on the prairies1 8,to-morrow to fresh woods and pastures new40 ,cattle and horses1 however1 retain many of their wild habits or instincts wonderfully4 ,the seeds of instinct are preserved under their thick hides1 like seeds in the bowels of the earth1 an indefinite period4#bg ,i have heard of a horse which his master could not catch in his pasture when the first snowflakes were falling1 who persisted in wintering out4 ,as he persisted in keeping out of his reach1 his master finally left him4 ,when the snow had covered the ground three or four inches deep1 the horse pawed it away to come at the grass1--just as the wild horses of ,michigan do1 who are turned loose by their ,indian masters1--and so he picked up a scanty subsistence4 ,by the next day he had had enough of free life and pined for his stable1 and so suffered himself to be caught4 ,a blacksmith1 my neighbor1 heard a great clattering noise the other day behind his shop1 and on going out found that his mare and his neighbor the pumpmaker's were fighting4 ,they would run at one another1 then turn round suddenly and let their heels fly4 ,the rattling of their hoofs one against the other was the noise he heard4 ,they repeated this several times with intervals of grazing1 until one prevailed4 ,the next day they bore the marks of some bruises1 some places where the skin was rucked up1 and some swellings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and then for my afternoon walks ,i have a garden1 larger than any artificial garden that ,i have read of and far more attractive to me1--mile after mile of embowered walks1 such as no nobleman's grounds can boast1 with animals running free and wild therein as from the first1--varied with land and water prospect1 and1 above all1 so retired that it is extremely rare that ,i meet a single wanderer in its mazes4 ,no gardener is seen therein1 no gates nor sic4 ,you may wander away to solitary bowers and brooks and hills4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ripple marks on the sandy bottom of ,flint's ,pond1 where the rushes grow1 feel hard to the feet of the wader1 though the sand is really soft1--made firm perchance by the weight of the water4#bh ,the rushes over the water are white with the exuvi1 the skeletons1 of insects1--like blossoms1--which have deposited their eggs on their tops4 ,the skeletons looked like those of shad-flies1 though some living insects were not4 ,i have seen crimson-colored eggs painting the leaves of the black birch quite beautifully4 99 99 99 99 99 ,and now the ascending sun has contracted the shadow of the solitary tree1 and they are compelled to seek the neighboring wood for shelter4 ,june #ba4 ,the flowers of the white pine are now in their prime1 but ,i see none of their pollen on the pond4 99 99 99 99 99 ,this piece of rural pantomime1 this bucolic1 is enacted before me every day4 ,far over the hills on that fair hillside1 ,i look into the pastoral age4 99 99 99 99 99 ,but these are only the disadvantages of a fire4 ,it is without doubt an advantage on the whole4 ,it sweeps and ventilates the forest floor1 and makes it clear and clean4 ,it is nature's besom4 ,by destroying the punier underwood it gives prominence to the larger and sturdier trees1 and makes a wood in which you can go and come4 ,i have often remarked with how much more comfort and pleasure ,i could walk in woods through which a fire had run the previous year4 ,it will clean the forest floor like a broom perfectly smooth and clear1--no twigs left to crackle underfoot1 the dead and rotten wood removed1--and thus in the course of two or three years new huckleberry fields are created for the town1--for birds and men4 ,when the lightning burns the forest its ,director makes no apology to man1 and ,i was but ,his agent4 ,perhaps we owe to this accident partly some of the noblest natural parks4 ,it is inspiriting to walk amid the fresh green sprouts of grass and shrubbery pushing upward through the charred surface with more vigorous growth4 99 99 99 99 99 ,wherever a man goes men will pursue and paw him with their dirty institutions4#bi ,sometimes an arrowhead is found with the mouldering shaft still attached4 7,vide ,charles ,hubbard47 ,a little boy from ,compton1 ,r4 ,i41 told me that his father found an arrowhead sticking in a dead tree and nearly buried in it4 ,where is the hand that drew that bow8 ,the arrow shot by the ,indian is still found occasionally1 sticking in the trees of our forest4 ,it is astonishing how much information is to be got out of very unpromising witnesses4 ,a wise man will avail himself of the observation of all4 ,every boy and simpleton has been an observer in some field1--so many more senses they are1 differently located4 ,will inquire of eyes what they have seen1 of ears what they have heard1 of hands what they have done1 of feet where they have been4 ,july #af4 ,i have not yet been able to collect half a thimbleful of the pollen of the pine on ,walden1 abundant as it was last summer4 ,there is in our yard a little pitch pine four or five years old and not much more than a foot high1 with small cones on it but no male flowers2 and yet ,i do not know of another pitch pine tree within half a mile4 99 99 99 99 99 ,many men walk by day2 few walk by night4 ,it is a very different season4 ,instead of the sun1 there are the moon and stars2 instead of the wood thrush1 there is the whip-poor-will2 instead of butterflies1 fireflies1 winged sparks of fire6 who would have believed it8 ,what kind of life and cool deliberation dwells in a spark of fire in dewy abodes8 ,every man carries fire in his eye1 or in his blood1 or in his brain4 ,instead of singing birds1 the croaking of frogs and the intenser dream of crickets4 ,the potatoes stand up straight1 the corn grows1 the bushes loom1 and1 in a moonlight night1 the shadows of rocks and trees and bushes and hills are more conspicuous than the objects themselves4 ,the slightest inequalities in the ground are revealed by the shadows2 what the feet find comparatively smooth appears rough and diversified to the eye4 ,the smallest recesses in the rocks are dim and cavernous2 the ferns in the wood appear to be of tropical size2 the pools seen through the leaves become as full of light as the sky4 8,the light of day takes refuge in their bosom10 as the ,purana says of the ocean4 ,the woods are heavy and dark4 ,nature slumbers4 ,the rocks retain the warmth of the sun which they have absorbed all night4#cj ,the names of those who bought these fields of the red men1 the wild men of the woods1 are ,buttrick1 ,davis1 ,barrett1 ,bulkley1 etc41 etc4 7,vide ,history47 ,here and there still you will find a man with ,indian blood in his veins1 an eccentric farmer descended from an ,indian chief2 or you will see a solitary pure-blooded ,indian1 looking as wild as ever among the pines1 one of the last of the ,massachusetts tribes1 stepping into a railroad car with his gun4 ,still here and there an ,indian squaw with her dog1 her only companion1 lives in some lone house1 insulted by school-children1 making baskets and picking berries her employment4 ,you will meet her on the highway1 with few children or none1 with melancholy face1 history1 destiny2 stepping after her race2 who had stayed to tuck them up in their long sleep4 ,for whom berries condescend to grow4 ,i have not seen one on the ,musketaquid for many a year1 and some who came up in their canoes and camped on its banks a dozen years ago had to ask me where it came from4 ,a lone ,indian woman without children1 accompanied by her dog1 wearing the shroud of her race1 performing the last offices for her departed race4 ,not yet absorbed into the elements again2 a daughter of the soil2 one of the nobility of the land4 ,the white man an imported weed1--burdock and mullein1 which displace the ground-nut4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as a proof that oysters do not move1 ,i have been told by a ,long ,island oysterman that they are found in large clusters surrounding the parent oyster in the position in which they must have grown1 the young being several years old4 ,i find the actual to be far less real to me than the imagined4 ,why this singular prominence and importance is given to the former1 ,i do not know4 ,in proportion as that which possesses my thoughts is removed from the actual1 it impresses me4 ,i have never met with anything so truly visionary and accidental as some actual events4 ,they have affected me less than my dreams4 ,whatever actually happens to a man is wonderfully trivial and insignificant1--even to death itself1 ,i imagine4 ,he complains of the fates who drown him1 that they do not touch him4 ,they do not deal directly with him4 ,i have in my pocket a button which ,i ripped off the coat of the ,marquis of ,ossoli#ca on the seashore the other day4 ,held up1 it intercepts the light and casts a shadow1--an actual button so called1--and yet all the life it is connected with is less substantial to me than my faintest dreams4 ,this stream of events which we consent to call actual1 and that other mightier stream which alone carries us with it1--what makes the difference8 ,on the one our bodies float1 and we have sympathy with it through them2 on the other1 our spirits4 ,we are ever dying to one world and being born into another1 and possibly no man knows whether he is at any time dead in the sense in which he affirms that phenomenon of another1 or not4 ,our thoughts are the epochs of our life3 all else is but as a journal of the winds that blew while we were here4#cb ,i do not think much of the actual4 ,it is something which we have long since done with4 ,it is a sort of vomit in which the unclean love to wallow4 ,there was nothing at all remarkable about them4 ,they were simply some bones lying on the beach4 ,they would not detain a walker there more than so much seaweed4 ,i should think that the fates would not take the trouble to show me any bones again1 ,i so slightly appreciate the favor4#cc ,do a little more of that work which you have sometime confessed to be good1 which you feel that society and your justest judge rightly demands of you4 ,do what you reprove yourself for not doing4 ,know that you are neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with yourself without reason4 ,let me say to you and to myself in one breath1 ,cultivate the tree which you have found to bear fruit in your soil4 ,regard not your past failures nor successes4 ,all the past is equally a failure and a success2 it is a success in as much as it offers you the present opportunity4 ,have you not a pretty good thinking faculty1 worth more than the rarest gold watch8 ,can you not pass a judgment on something8 ,does not the stream still rise to its fountain-head in you8 ,go to the devil and come back again4 ,dispose of evil4 ,get punished once for all4 ,die1 if you can4 ,depart4 ,exchange your salvation for a glass of water4 ,if you know of any risk to run1 run it4 ,if you don't know of any1 enjoy confidence4 ,do not trouble yourself to be religious2 you will never get a thank-you for it4 ,if you can drive a nail and have any nails to drive1 drive them4 ,if you have any experiments you would like to try1 try them2 now's your chance4 ,do not entertain doubts1 if they are not agreeable to you4 ,send them to the tavern4 ,do not eat unless you are hungry2 there's no need of it4 ,do not read the newspapers4 ,improve every opportunity to be melancholy4 ,be as melancholy as you can be1 and note the result4 ,rejoice with fate4 ,as for health1 consider yourself well1 and mind your business4 ,who knows but you are dead already8 ,do not stop to be scared yet2 there are more terrible things to come1 and ever to come4 ,men die of fright and live of confidence4 ,be not simply obedient like the vegetables2 set up your own ,ebenezer4 ,of man's 8disobedience and the fruit10 etc4 ,do not engage to find things as you think they are4 ,do what nobody can do for you4 ,omit to do everything else4#cd 99 99 99 99 99 ,according to ,lieutenant ,davis1 the forms1 extent1 and distribution of sand-bars and banks are principally determined by tides1 not by winds and waves4#ce ,on sand-bars recently elevated above the level of the ocean1 fresh water is obtained by digging a foot or two4 ,it is very common for wells near the shore to rise and fall with the tide4 ,it is an interesting fact that the low sand-bars in the midst of the ocean1 even those which are laid bare only at low tide1 are reservoirs of fresh water at which the thirsty mariner can supply himself4 ,perchance1 like huge sponges1 they hold the rain and dew which falls on them1 and which1 by capillary attraction1 is prevented from mingling with the surrounding brine4#cf ,it is not easy to make our lives respectable to ourselves by any course of activity4 ,we have repeatedly to withdraw ourselves into our shells of thought like the tortoise1 somewhat helplessly2 and yet there is even more than philosophy in that4 ,i do not love to entertain doubts and questions4 ,i am sure that my acquaintances mistake me4 ,i am not the man they take me for4 ,on a little nearer view they would find me out4 ,they ask my advice on high matters1 but they do not even know how poorly on't ,i am for hats and shoes4 ,i have hardly a shift4 ,just as shabby as ,i am in my outward apparel1--aye1 and more lamentably shabby1 for nakedness is not so bad a condition after all1--am ,i in my inward apparel4 ,if ,i should turn myself inside out1 my rags and meanness would appear4 ,i am something to him that made me1 undoubtedly1 but not much to any other that he has made4#cg ,all ,i can say is that ,i live and breathe and have my thoughts4 ,what is peculiar in the life of a man consists not in his obedience1 but his opposition1 to his instincts4 ,in one direction or another he strives to live a supernatural life4 ,would it not be worth the while to discover nature in ,milton8#ch ,be native to the universe4 ,i1 too1 love ,concord best1 but ,i am glad when ,i discover1 in oceans and wildernesses far away1 the materials out of which a million ,concords can be made1--indeed1 unless ,i discover them1 ,i am lost myself1--that there too ,i am at home4 ,nature is as far from me as ,god1 and sometimes ,i have thought to go ,west after her4 ,though the city is no more attractive to me than ever1 yet ,i see less difference between a city and some dismallest swamp than formerly4 ,it is a swamp too dismal and dreary1 however1 for me4 ,i would as lief find a few owls and frogs and mosquitoes less4 ,i prefer even a more cultivated place1 free from miasma and crocodiles1 and ,i will take my choice4#ci ,from time to time ,i overlook the promised land1 but ,i do not feel that ,i am travelling toward it4 ,the moment ,i begin to look there1 men and institutions get out of the way that ,i may see4 ,i see nothing permanent in the society around me1 and am not quite committed to any of its ways4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the heaven-born ,numa1 or ,lycurgus1 or ,solon1 gravely makes laws to regulate the exportation of tobacco4 ,will a divine legislator legislate for slaves1 or to regulate the exportation of tobacco8 ,what shall a ,state say for itself at the last day1 in which this is a principal production8 ,what have grave1 not to say divine1 legislators--,numas1 ,lycurguses1 ,solons--to do with the exportation or the importation of tobacco4 ,there was a man appealed to me the other day1 8,can you give me a chaw of tobacco80 ,i legislated for him4 ,suppose you were to submit the question to any son of ,god1 in what ,state would you get it again8#dj ,do not waste any reverence on my attitude4 ,i manage to sit up where ,i have dropped4 ,except as you reverence the evil one1--or rather the evil myriad4 ,as for missing friends1--fortunate perhaps is he who has any to miss1 whose place a thought will not supply4 ,i have an ideal friend in whose place actual persons sometimes stand for a season4 ,the last ,i may often miss1 but the first ,i recover when ,i am myself again4 ,what if we do miss one another8 have we not agreed upon a rendezvous8 ,while each travels his own way through the wood with serene and inexpressible joy1 though it be on his hands and knees over the rocks and fallen trees1 he cannot but be on the right way2 there is no wrong way to him4 ,i have found myself as well off when ,i have fallen into a quagmire1 as in an armchair in the most hospitable house4 ,the prospect was pretty much the same4 ,without anxiety let us wander on1 admiring whatever beauty the woods exhibit4#da ,do you know on what bushes a little peace1 faith1 and contentment grow8 ,go a-berrying early and late after them4#db ,miss our friends6 ,it is not easy to get rid of them4 ,we shall miss our bodies directly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as to conforming outwardly1 and living your own life inwardly1 ,i have not a very high opinion of that course4 ,do not let your right hand know what your left hand does in that line of business4 ,i have no doubt it will prove a failure4#dc ,the wind through the blind just now sounded like the baying of a distant hound1--somewhat plaintive and melodious4 ,the railroad cuts make cliffs for swallows4 99 99 99 99 99 ,getting into ,patchogue late one night in an oyster-boat1 there was a drunken ,dutchman aboard whose wit reminded me of ,shakespeare4 ,when we came to leave the beach1 our boat was aground1 and we were detained three hours waiting for the tide4 ,in the meanwhile two of the fishermen took an extra dram at the beach house4 ,then they stretched themselves on the seaweed by the shore in the sun to sleep off the effects of their debauch4 ,one was an inconceivably broad-faced young ,dutchman1--but oh6 of such a peculiar breadth and heavy look1 ,i should not know whether to call it more ridiculous or sublime4 ,you would say that he had humbled himself so much that he was beginning to be exalted4 ,an indescribable mynheerish stupidity4 ,i was less disgusted by their filthiness and vulgarity1 because ,i was compelled to look on them as animals1 as swine in their sty4 ,for the whole voyage they lay flat on their backs on the bottom of the boat1 in the bilge-water and wet with each bailing1 half insensible and wallowing in their vomit4 ,but ever and anon1 when aroused by the rude kicks or curses of the skipper1 the ,dutchman1 who never lost his wit nor equanimity1 though snoring and rolling in the vomit produced by his debauch1 blurted forth some happy repartee like an illuminated swine4 ,it was the earthiest1 slimiest wit ,i ever heard4 ,the countenance was one of a million4 ,it was unmistakable ,dutch4 ,in the midst of a million faces of other races it could not be mistaken4 ,it told of ,amsterdam4 ,i kept racking my brains to conceive how he could have been born in ,america1 how lonely he must feel1 what he did for fellowship4 ,when we were groping up the narrow creek of ,patchogue at ten o'clock at night1 keeping our boat off1 now from this bank1 now from that1 with a pole1 the two inebriates roused themselves betimes4 ,for in spite of their low estate they seemed to have all their wits as much about them as ever1 aye1 and all the self-respect they ever had4 ,and the ,dutchman gave wise directions to the steerer1 which were not heeded4 ,suddenly rousing himself up where the sharpest-eyed might be bewildered in the darkness1 he leaned over the side of the boat and pointed straight down into the creek1 averring that that identical hole was a first-rate place for eels4 ,and again he roused himself at the right time and declared what luck he had once had with his pots 7not his cups7 in another place1 which we were floating over in the dark4 ,at last he suddenly stepped on to another boat which was moored to the shore1 with a divine ease and sureness1 saying1 8,well1 good-night1 take care of yourselves1 ,i can't be with you any longer40 ,he was one of the few remarkable men whom ,i have met4 ,i have been impressed by one or two men in their cups4 ,there was really a divinity stirred within them1 so that in their case ,i have reverenced the drunken1 as savages the insane1 man4 ,so stupid that he could never be intoxicated4 ,when ,i said1 8,you have had a hard time of it to-day10 he answered with indescribable good humor out of the very midst of his debauch1 with watery eyes1 8,well1 it doesn't happen every day40 ,it was happening then4#dd ,he had taken me aboard on his back1 the boat lying a rod from the shore1 before ,i knew his condition4 ,in the darkness our skipper steered with a pole on the bottom1 for an oysterman knows the bottom of his bay as well as the shores1 and can tell where he is by the soundings4#de 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was a glorious lurid sunset to-night1 accompanied with many sombre clouds1 and when ,i looked into the west with my head turned1 the grass had the same fresh green1 and the distant herbage and foliage in the horizon the same bark blue1 and the clouds and sky the same bright colors beautifully mingled and dissolving into one another1 that ,i have seen in pictures of tropical landscapes and skies4 ,pale saffron skies with faint fishes of rosy clouds dissolving in them4 ,a blood-stained sky4 ,i regretted that ,i had an impatient companion4 ,what shall we make of the fact that you have only to stand on your head a moment to be enchanted with the beauty of the landscape8 ,i met with a man on the beach who told me that when he wanted to jump over a brook he held up one leg a certain height1 and then1 if a line from his eye through his toe touched the opposite bank1 he knew that he could jump it4 ,i asked him how he knew when he held his leg at the right angle1 and he said he knew the hitch very well4 ,an ,irishman told me that he held up one leg and if he could bring his toe in a range with his eye and the opposite bank he knew that he could jump it4 ,why1 ,i told him1 ,i can blot out a star with my toe1 but ,i would not engage to jump the distance4 ,it then appeared that he knew when he had got his leg at the right height by a certain hitch there was in it4 ,i suggested that he should connect his two ankles with a string4#df 99 99 99 99 99 ,i knew a clergyman who1 when any person died1 was wont to speak of that portion of mankind who survived as living monuments of ,god's mercy4 ,a negative kind of life to live6 99 99 99 99 99 ,i can easily walk ten1 fifteen1 twenty1 any number of miles1 commencing at my own door1 without going by any house1 without crossing a road except where the fox and the mink do4 ,concord is the oldest inland town in ,new ,england1 perhaps in the ,states1 and the walker is peculiarly favored here4 ,there are square miles in my vicinity which have no inhabitant4 ,first along by the river1 and then the brook1 and then the meadow and the woodside4 ,such solitude6 ,from a hundred hills ,i can see civilization and abodes of man afar4 ,these farmers and their works are scarcely more obvious than woodchucks4#dg 99 99 99 99 99 ,as ,i was going by with a creaking wheelbarrow1 one of my neighbors1 who heard the music1 ran out with his grease-pot and brush and greased the wheels4 ,that is a peculiar season when about the middle of ,august the farmers are getting their meadow-hay4 ,if you sail up the river1 you will see them in all meadows1 raking hay and loading it on to carts1 great towering 8 teams1 under which the oxen stand like beetles1 chewing the cud1 waiting for men to put the meadow on4 ,with the heaviest load they dash aside to crop some more savory grass1--the half-broken steers4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was reason enough for the first settler's selecting the elm out of all the trees of the forest with which to ornament his villages4 ,it is beautiful alike by sunlight and moonlight1 and the most beautiful specimens are not the largest4 ,i have seen some only twenty-five or thirty years old1 more graceful and healthy1 ,i think1 than any others4 ,it is almost become a villageous tree1--like martins and bluebirds4 ,the high blueberry has the wildest flavor of any of the huckleberry tribe4 ,it is a little mithridatic4 ,it is like eating a poisonous berry which your nature makes harmless4 ,i derive the same pleasure as if ,i were eating dog-berries1 nightshade1 and wild parsnip with impunity4 ,man and his affairs1--,church and ,state and school1 trade and commerce and agriculture1--,politics1--for that is the word for them all here to-day1--,i am pleased to see how little space it occupies in the landscape4 ,it is but a narrow field4 ,that still narrower highway yonder leads to it4 ,i sometimes direct the traveller#dh ,two pages missing4 ,and once again1 ,when ,i went a-maying1 ,and once or twice more ,i had seen thee before1 ,for there grow the mayflower 7,epiga repens7 ,and the mountain cranberry ,and the screech owl strepens4 ,o whither dost thou go8 ,which way dost thou flow8 ,thou art the way4 ,thou art a road ,which ,dante never trode4 ,not many they be ,who enter therein1 ,only the guests of the ,irishman ,quin4#di ,there was a cross-eyed fellow used to help me survey1--he was my stake-driver1--and all he said was1 at every stake he drove1 8,there1 ,i shouldn't like to undertake to pull that up with my teeth40 ,it sticks in my crop4 ,that's a good phrase4 ,many things stick there4 ,the man of wild habits1 ,partridges and rabbits1 ,who has no cares ,only to set snares1 ,who liv'st all alone1 ,close to the bone1 ,and where life is sweetest ,constantly eatest4 ,where they once dug for money1 ,but never found 8ony40 ,to market fares ,with early apples and pears4 ,when the spring stirs my blood ,with the instinct to travel1 ,i can get enough gravel ,on the ,old ,marlborough ,road4 ,if you'll leave your abode ,with your fancy unfurled1 ,you may go round the world ,by the ,old ,marlborough ,road4 ,nobody repairs it1 ,for nobody wears it4 ,it is a living way1 ,as the ,christians say4 ,what is it1 what is it1 ,but a direction out there ,and the bare possibility ,of going somewhere8 ,great guide-boards of stone1 ,but travellers none4 ,it is worth going there to see ,where you might be4 ,they're a great endeavor ,to be something for ever4 ,they are a monument to somebody1 ,to some selectman ,who thought of the plan4 ,what king ,did the thing1 ,i am still wondering4 ,cenotaphs of the towns ,named on their crowns2 ,huge as ,stonehenge2 ,set up how or when1 ,by what selectmen8 ,gourgas or ,lee1 ,clark or ,darby8 ,blank tablets of stone1 ,where a traveller might groan1 ,and in one sentence ,grave all that is known2 ,which another might read1 ,in his extreme need4 ,i know two or three ,sentences1 i4 e41 ,that might there be4 ,literature that might stand ,all over the land4 ,which a man might remember ,till after ,december1 ,and read again in the spring1 ,after the thawing4#ej ,old meeting-house bell1 ,i love thy music well4 ,it peals through the air1 ,sweetly full and fair1 ,as in the early times1 ,when ,i listened to its chimes4 ,i walk over the hills1 to compare great things with small1 as through a gallery of pictures1 ever and anon looking through a gap in the wood1 as through the frame of a picture1 to a more distant wood or hillside1 painted with several more coats of air4 ,it is a cheap but pleasant effect4 ,to a landscape in picture1 glassed with air4 ,what is a horizon without mountains8 99 99 99 99 99 ,a field of water betrays the spirit that is in the air4 ,it has new life and motion4 ,it is intermediate between land and sky4 ,on land1 only the grass and trees wave1 but the water itself is rippled by the wind4 ,i see the breeze dash across it in streaks and flakes of light4 ,it is somewhat singular that we should look down on the surface of water4 ,we shall look down on the surface of air next1 and mark where a still subtler spirit sweeps over it4#ea ,without inlet it lies1 ,without outlet it flows4 ,from and to the skies ,it comes and it goes4 ,i am its source1 ,and my life is its course4 ,i am its stony shore ,and the breeze that passes o'er4#eb ,two thirds of a page missing4 ,all that the money-digger had ever found was a pine-tree shilling1 once as he was dunging out4 ,he was paid much more for dunging out1 but he valued more the money which he found4 ,the boy thinks most of the cent he found1 not the cent he earned2 for it suggests to him that he may find a great deal more1 but he knows that he can't earn much1 and perhaps did not deserve that4 ,two pages missing4 ,among the worst of men that ever lived4 ,however1 we did seriously attend1 ,a little space we let our thoughts ascend1 ,experienced our religion and confessed ',t was good for us to be there1--be anywhere4 ,then to a heap of apples we addressed1 ,and cleared a five-rail fence with hand on the topmost rider sine care4 ,then our ,icarian thoughts returned to ground1 ,and we went on to heaven the long way round4 ,what's the railroad to me8 ,i never go to see ,where it ends4 ,it fills a few hollows1 ,and makes banks for the swallows2 ,it sets the sand a-flowing1 ,and blackberries a-growing4#ec ,aug4 #ca4 ,,tall ,,ambrosia ,among the signs of autumn ,i perceive ,the ,roman wormwood 7called by learned men ,ambrosia elatior1 food for gods1 ,for by impartial science the humblest weed ,is as well named as is the proudest flower7 ,sprinkles its yellow dust over my shoes ,as ,i brush through the now neglected garden4 ,we trample under foot the food of gods ,and spill their nectar in each drop of dew4 ,my honest shoes1 fast friends that never stray ,far from my couch1 thus powdered1 countrified1 ,bearing many a mile the marks of their adventure1 ,at the post-house disgrace the ,gallic gloss ,of those well-dressed ones who no morning dew ,nor ,roman wormwood ever have gone through1 ,who never walk1 but are transported rather1 ,for what old crime of theirs ,i do not gather4 ,the gray blueberry bushes1 venerable as oaks1--why is not their fruit poisonous8 ,bilberry called ,vaccinium corymbosum2 some say amnum1 or blue bilberry1 and ,vaccinium disomorphum ,mx41 black bilberry4 ,its fruit hangs on into ,september1 but loses its wild and sprightly taste4 ,th' ambrosia of the ,gods's a weed on earth1 ,their nectar is the morning dew which on- ,ly our shoes taste1 for they are simple folks4 ',t is very fit the ambrosia of the gods ,should be a weed on earth1 as nectar is ,the morning dew which our shoes brush aside2 ,for the gods are simple folks1 and we should pine upon their humble fare4 ,the purple flowers of the humble trichostema mingled with the wormwood1 smelling like it2 and the spring-scented1 dandelion-scented primrose1 yellow primrose4 ,the swamp-pink 7,azalea viscosa71 its now withered pistils standing out4 ,the odoriferous sassafras1 with its delicate green stem1 its three-lobed leaf1 tempting the traveller to bruise it1 it sheds so rare a perfume on him1 equal to all the spices of the ,east4 ,then its rare-tasting root bark1 like nothing else1 which ,i used to dig4 ,the first navigators freighted their ships with it and deemed it worth its weight in gold4 ,the alder-leaved clethra 7,clethra alnifolia71 sweet-smelling queen of the swamp2 its long white racemes4 ,we are most apt to remember and cherish the flowers which appear earliest in the spring4 ,i look with equal affection on those which are the latest to bloom in the fall4 ,the choke-berry 7,pyrus arbutifolia74 ,the beautiful white waxen berries of the cornel1 either ,cornus alba or paniculata1 white-berried or panicled1 beautiful both when full of fruit and when its cymes are naked2 delicate red cymes or stems of berries2 spreading its little fairy fingers to the skies1 its little palms2 fairy palms they might be called4 ,one of the viburnums1 ,lentago or pyrifolium or nudum1 with its poisonous-looking fruit in cymes1 first greenish-white1 then red1 then purple1 or all at once4 ,the imp-eyed1 red1 velvety-looking berry of the swamps4#ed ,the spotted polygonum 7,polygonum ,persicaria71 seen in low lands amid the potatoes now1 wild prince's-feather 7871 slight flower that does not forget to grace the autumn4 ,the late whortleberry--dangleberry--that ripens now that other huckleberries and blueberries are shrivelled and spoiling1 ,september #ast2 dangle down two or three inches2 can rarely find many4 ,they have a more transparent look1 large1 blue1 long-stemmed1 dangling1 fruit of the swamp concealed4 ,i detect the pennyroyal which my feet have bruised4 ,butter-and-eggs still hold out to bloom4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i notice that cows never walk abreast1 but in single file commonly1 making a narrow cow-path1 or the herd walks in an irregular and loose wedge4 ,they retain still the habit of all the deer tribe1 acquired when the earth was all covered with forest1 of travelling from necessity in narrow paths in the woods4 ,at sundown a herd of cows1 returning homeward from pasture over a sandy knoll1 pause to paw the sand and challenge the representatives of another herd1 raising a cloud of dust between the beholder and the setting sun4 ,and then the herd boys rush to mingle in the fray and separate the combatants1 two cows with horns interlocked1 the one pushing the other down the bank4 ,my grandmother called her cow home at night from the pasture over the hill1 by thumping on a mortar out of which the cow was accustomed to eat salt4 ,at ,nagog ,i saw a hundred bushels of huckleberries in one field4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,roman wormwood1 pigweed1 a stout1 coarse red-topped 787 weed 7,amaranthus hybridus71 and spotted polygonum2 these are the lusty growing plants now1 ,september #b;d4 ,tall1 slender1 minute white-flowered weed in gardens1 annual fleabane 7,erigeron ,canadensis74 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of my neighbors1 of whom ,i borrowed a horse1 cart1 and harness to-day1 which last was in a singularly dilapidated condition1 considering that he is a wealthy farmer1 did not know but ,i would make a book about it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,as ,i was stalking over the surface of this planet in the dark to-night1 ,i started a plover resting on the ground and heard him go off with whistling wings4 99 99 99 99 99 ,my friends wonder that ,i love to walk alone in solitary fields and woods by night4 ,sometimes in my loneliest and wildest midnight walk ,i hear the sound of the whistle and the rattle of the cars1 where perchance some of those very friends are being whirled by night over1 as they think1 a well-known1 safe1 and public road4 ,i see that men do not make or choose their own paths1 whether they are railroads or trackless through the wilds1 but what the powers permit each one enjoys4 ,my solitary course has the same sanction that the ,fitchburg ,railroad has4 ,if they have a charter from ,massachusetts and--what is of much more importance--from ,heaven1 to travel the course and in the fashion they do1 ,i have a charter1 though it be from ,heaven alone1 to travel the course ,i do1--to take the necessary lands and pay the damages4 ,it is by the grace of ,god in both cases4 99 99 99 99 99 ,now1 about the first of ,september1 you will see flocks of small birds forming compact and distinct masses1 as if they were not only animated by one spirit but actually held together by some invisible fluid or film1 and will hear the sound of their wings rippling or fanning the air as they flow through it1 flying1 the whole mass1 ricochet like a single bird1--or as they flow over the fence4 ,their mind must operate faster than man's1 in proportion as their bodies do4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what a generation this is6 ,it travels with some brains in its hat1 with a couple of spare cigars on top of them4 ,it carries a heart in its breast1 covered by a lozenge in its waistcoat pocket4 99 99 99 99 99 ,john ,garfield brought me this morning 7,september #fth7 a young great heron 7,ardea ,herodias71 which he shot this morning on a pine tree on the ,north ,branch4 ,it measured four feet1 nine inches1 from bill to toe and six feet in alar extent1 and belongs to a different race from myself and ,mr4 ,frost4 ,i am glad to recognize him for a native of ,america1--why not an ,american citizen8 ,in the twilight1 when you can only see the outlines of the trees in the horizon1 the elm-tops indicate where the houses are4 ,i have looked afar over fields and even over distant woods and distinguished the conspicuous graceful1 sheaf-like head of an elm which shadowed some farmhouse4 ,from the northwest 787 part of ,sudbury you can see an elm on the ,boston road1 on the hilltop in the horizon in ,wayland1 five or six miles distant4 ,the elm is a tree which can be distinguished farther off perhaps than any other4 ,the wheelwright still makes his hubs of it1 his spokes of white oak1 his fellies of yellow oak1 which does not crack on the corners4 ,in ,england1 'tis said1 they use the ash for fellies4 ,there is a little grove in a swampy place in ,conantum where some rare things grow1--several bass trees1 two kinds of ash1 sassafras1 maidenhair fern1 the white-berried plant 7ivory871 etc41 etc41 and the sweet viburnum 787 in the hedge near by4 ,this will be called the wet year of #ahej4 ,the river is as high now1 ,september #ith1 as in the spring1 and hence the prospects and the reflections seen from the village are something novel4 99 99 99 99 99 ,roman wormwood1 pigweed1 amaranth1 polygonum1 and one or two coarse kinds of grass reign now in the cultivated fields4 ,though the potatoes have man with all his implements on their side1 these rowdy and rampant weeds completely bury them1 between the last hoeing and the digging4 ,the potatoes hardly succeed with the utmost care3 these weeds only ask to be let alone a little while4 ,i judge that they have not got the rot4 ,i sympathize with all this luxuriant growth of weeds4 ,such is the year4 ,the weeds grow as if in sport and frolic4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you might say green as green-briar4 ,i do not know whether the practice of putting indigo-weed about horses' tackling to keep off flies is well founded1 but ,i hope it is1 for ,i have been pleased to notice that wherever ,i have occasion to tie a horse ,i am sure to find indigo-weed not far off1 and therefore this1 which is so universally dispersed1 would be the fittest weed for this purpose4 ,the thistle is now in bloom1 which every child is eager to clutch once1--just a child's handful4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the prunella1 self-heal1 small purplish-flowered plant of low grounds4 99 99 99 99 99 ,charles#ee grew up to be a remarkably eccentric man4 ,he was of large frame1 athletic1 and celebrated for his feats of strength4 ,his lungs were proportionally strong4 ,there was a man who heard him named once1 and asked if it was the same ,charles ,dunbar whom he remembered when he was a little boy walking on the coast of ,maine4 ,a man came down to the shore and hailed a vessel that was sailing by4 ,he should never forget that man's name4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it was well grassed1 and delicate flowers grew in the middle of the road4 ,i saw a delicate flower had grown up two feet high ,between the horses' path and the wheel-track1 ,which ,dakin's and ,maynard's wagons had ,passed over many a time4 ,an inch more to right or left had sealed its fate1 ,or an inch higher4 ,and yet it lived and flourished ,as much as if it had a thousand acres ,of untrodden space around it1 and never ,knew the danger it incurred4 ,it did not borrow trouble nor invite an ,evil fate by apprehending it4#ef ,for though the distant market-wagon ,every other day inevitably rolled ,this way1 it just as inevitably rolled ,in those ruts4 ,and the same ,charioteer who steered the flower ,upward guided the horse and cart aside from it4 ,there were other flowers which you would say ,incurred less danger1 grew more out of the way1 ,which no cart rattled near1 no walker daily passed1 ,but at length one rambling deviously-- ,for no rut restrained--plucked them1 ,and then it appeared that they stood ,directly in his way1 though he had come ,from farther than the market-wagon4 ,and then it appeared that this brave flower which grew between the wheel and horse did actually stand farther out of the way than that which stood in the wide prairie where the man of science plucked it4 ,to-day ,i climbed a handsome rounded hill ,covered with hickory trees1 wishing to see ,the country from its top1 for low hills ,show unexpected prospects4 ,i looked ,many miles over a woody lowland ,toward ,marlborough1 ,framingham1 and ,sudbury2 ,and as ,i sat amid the hickory trees ,and the young sumachs1 enjoying the prospect1 a neat herd of cows approached1 of unusually fair proportions and smooth1 clean skins1 evidently petted by their owner1 who must have carefully selected them4 ,one more confiding heifer1 the fairest of the herd1 did by degrees approach as if to take some morsel from our hands1 while our hearts leaped to our mouths with expectation and delight4 ,she by degrees drew near with her fair limbs progressive1 making pretense of browsing2 nearer and nearer1 till there was wafted toward us the bovine fragrance1--cream of all the dairies that ever were or will be1--and then she raised her gentle muzzle toward us1 and snuffed an honest recognition within hand's reach4 ,i saw 't was possible for his herd to inspire with love the herdsman4 ,she was as delicately featured as a hind4 ,her hide was mingled white and fawn-color1 and on her muzzle's tip there was a white spot not bigger than a daisy1 and on her side toward me the map of ,asia plain to see4 ,farewell1 dear heifer6 ,though thou forgettest me1 my prayer to heaven shall be that thou may'st not forget thyself4 ,there was a whole bucolic in her snuff4 ,i saw her name was ,sumach4 ,and by the kindred spots ,i knew her mother1 more sedate and matronly1 with full-grown bag2 and on her sides was ,asia1 great and small1 the plains of ,tartary1 even to the pole1 while on her daughter it was ,asia ,minor4 ,she not disposed to wanton with the herdsman4 ,and as ,i walked1 she followed me1 and took an apple from my hand1 and seemed to care more for the hand than apple4 ,so innocent a face as ,i have rarely seen on any creature1 and ,i have looked in face of many heifers4 ,and as she took the apple from my hand1 ,i caught the apple of her eye4 ,she smelled as sweet as the clethra blossom4 ,there was no sinister expression4 ,and for horns1 though she had them1 they were so well disposed in the right place1 bent neither up nor down1 ,i do not now remember she had any4 ,no horn was held toward me4#eg ,sept4 #aa4 ,wednesday4 ,the river higher than ,i ever knew it at this season1 as high as in the spring4 99 99 99 99 99 ,yesterday1 ,september #ad1 walked to ,white ,pond in ,stow1 on the ,marlborough road1 having passed one pond called sometimes ,pratt's ,pond1 sometimes ,bottomless ,pond1 in ,sudbury4 ,saw afterward another pond beyond ,willis's also called ,bottomless ,pond1 in a thick swamp4 ,to name two ponds bottomless when both of them have a bottom6 ,verily men choose darkness rather than light4#eh ,the farmers are now cutting--topping--their corn1 gathering their early fruit1 raking their cranberries1 digging their potatoes1 etc4 ,everything has its use1 and man seeks sedulously for the best article for each use4 ,the watchmaker finds the oil of the porpoise's jaw the best for oiling his watches4 ,man has a million eyes1 and the race knows infinitely more than the individual4 ,consent to be wise through your race4 99 99 99 99 99 ,autumnal mornings1 when the feet of countless sparrows are heard like rain-drops on the roof by the boy who sleeps in the garret4 99 99 99 99 99 ,villages with a single long street lined with trees1 so straight and wide that you can see a chicken run across it a mile off4 ,sept4 #ai4 ,the gerardia1 yellow trumpet-like flower4 ,veiny-leaved hawkweed 7leaves handsome1 radical excepting one or two2 know them well7 7,hieracium venosum71 flower like a dandelion4 ,canada snapdragon1 small pea-like blue flower in the wood-paths1 7,antirrhinum ,canadense74 ,pine-weed1 thickly branched low weed with red seed-vessels1 in wood-paths and fields1 7,sarothra gentianoides74 ,cucumber-root 7,medeola74 ,tree-primrose4 ,red-stemmed cornel4 ,the very minute flower which grows now in the middle of the ,marlborough road4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i am glad to have drunk water so long1 as ,i prefer the natural sky to an opium-eater's heaven1--would keep sober always1 and lead a sane life not indebted to stimulants4 ,whatever my practice may be1 ,i believe that it is the only drink for a wise man1 and only the foolish habitually use any other4 ,think of dashing the hopes of a morning with a cup of coffee1 or of an evening with a dish of tea6 ,wine is not a noble liquor1 except when it is confined to the pores of the grape4 ,even music is wont to be intoxicating4 ,such apparently slight causes destroyed ,greece and ,rome1 and will destroy ,england and ,america4#ei ,i have seen where the rain dripped from the trees on a sand-bank on the ,marlborough road1 that each little pebble which had protected the sand made the summit of a sort of basaltic column of sand1--a phenomenon which looked as if it might be repeated on a larger scale in nature4 ,the goldenrods and asters impress me not like individuals but great families covering a thousand hills and having a season to themselves4 ,the indigo-weed turns black when dry1 and ,i have been interested to find in each of its humble seed-vessels a worm4 ,the ,deep ,cut is sometimes excited to productiveness by a rain in midsummer4 ,it impresses me somewhat as if it were a cave1 with all its stalactites turned wrong side outward4 ,workers in bronze should come here for their patterns4 ,those were carrots which ,i saw naturalized in ,wheeler's field4 ,it was four or five years since he planted there4 ,to-day ,i saw a sunflower in the woods4 ,it is pleasant to see the ,viola pedata blossoming again now1 in ,september1 with a beauty somewhat serener than that of these yellow flowers4 ,the trees on the bank of the river have white furrows worn about them1 marking the height of the freshets1 at what levels the water has stood4 ,water is so much more fine and sensitive an element than earth4 ,a single boatman passing up or down unavoidably shakes the whole of a wide river1 and disturbs its every reflection4 ,the air is an element which our voices shake still further than our oars the water4 ,the red maples on the river1 standing far in the water when the banks are overflown and touched by the earliest frosts1 are memorable features in the scenery of the stream at this season4 ,now you can scent the ripe grapes far off on the banks as you row along4 ,their fragrance is finer than their flavor4 ,my companion said he would drink when the boat got under the bridge1 because the water would be cooler in the shade1 though the stream quickly passes through the piers from shade to sun again4 ,it is something beautiful1 the act of drinking1 the stooping to imbibe some of this widespread element1 in obedience to instinct1 without whim4 ,we do not so simply drink in other influences4 ,it is pleasant to have been to a place by the way a river went4 ,the forms of trees and groves change with every stroke of the oar4 ,it seems hardly worth the while to risk the dangers of the sea between ,leghorn and ,new ,york for the sake of a cargo of juniper berries and bitter almonds4 ,oh1 if ,i could be intoxicated on air and water6#fj on hope and memory6 and always see the maples standing red in the midst of the waters on the meadow6 ,those have met with losses1 who have lost their children4 ,i saw the widow this morning whose son was drowned4 ,that ,i might never be blind to the beauty of the landscape6 ,to hear music without any vibrating cord6 ,a family in which there was singing in the morning4 ,to hear a neighbor singing6 ,all other speech sounds thereafter like profanity4 ,a man cannot sing falsehood or cowardice2 he must sing truth and heroism to attune his voice to some instrument4 ,it would be noblest to sing with the wind4 ,i have seen a man making himself a viol1 patiently and fondly paring the thin wood and shaping it1 and when ,i considered the end of the work he was ennobled in my eyes4 ,he was building himself a ship in which to sail to new worlds4 ,i am much indebted to my neighbor who will now and then in the intervals of his work draw forth a few strains from his accordion4 ,though he is but a learner1 ,i find when his strains cease that ,i have been elevated4 ,the question is not whether you drink1 but what liquor4 99 99 99 99 99 ,plucked a wild rose the #ith of ,october on ,fair ,haven ,hill4 ,butter-and-eggs1 which blossomed several months ago1 still freshly in bloom 7,october #aath74 ,he knew what shrubs were best for withes4 ,this is a remarkable year4 ,huckleberries are still quite abundant and fresh on ,conantum4 ,there have been more berries than pickers or even worms4 7,october #ith47 ,i am always exhilarated1 as were the early voyagers1 by the sight of sassafras 7,laurus ,sassafras74 ,the green leaves bruised have the fragrance of lemons and a thousand spices4 ,to the same order belong cinnamon1 cassia1 camphor4 ,hickory is said to be an ,indian name4 7,nuttall's continuation of ,michaux47 ,the seed vessel of the sweet-briar is a very beautiful glossy elliptical fruit4 ,what with the fragrance of its leaves1 its blossom1 and its fruit1 it is thrice crowned4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i observed to-day 7,october #agth7 the small blueberry bushes by the path-side1 now blood-red1 full of white blossoms as in the spring1 the blossoms of spring contrasting strangely with the leaves of autumn4 ,the former seemed to have expanded from sympathy with the maturity of the leaves4 99 99 99 99 99 ,walter ,colton in his 8,california0#fa says1 8,age is no certain evidence of merit1 since folly runs to seed as fast as wisdom40 ,the imagination never forgives an insult4 99 99 99 99 99 ,left ,concord1 ,wednesday morning1 ,september #beth1 #ahej1 for ,quebec4 ,fare #g4jj to and fro4 ,obliged to leave ,montreal on return as soon as ,friday1 ,october #dth4 ,the country was new to me beyond ,fitchburg4 ,in ,ashburnham and afterwards ,i noticed the woodbine4#fb ,eighty-four pages missing1--doubtless the ,canada journal4 99 99 99 99 99 ,however mean your life is1 meet it and live2 do not shun it and call it hard names4 ,it is not so bad as you are4 ,it looks poorest when you are richest4 ,the faultfinder will find faults even in paradise4 ,love your life1 poor as it is4 ,you may perchance have some pleasant1 thrilling1 glorious hours1 even in a poorhouse4 ,the setting sun is reflected from the windows of the almshouse as brightly as from the rich man's house4 ,the snow melts before its door as early in the spring4 ,i do not see but a quiet mind may live as contentedly there1 and have as cheering thoughts as anywhere1 and1 indeed1 the town's poor seem to live the most independent lives of any4 ,they are simply great enough to receive without misgiving4 ,cultivate poverty like sage1 like a garden herb4 ,do not trouble yourself to get new things1 whether clothes or friends4 ,that is dissipation4 ,turn the old2 return to them4 ,things do not change2 we change4 ,if ,i were confined to a corner in a garret all my days1 like a spider1 the world would be just as large to me while ,i had my thoughts4#fc ,in all my travels ,i never came to the abode of the present4 ,i live in the angle of a leaden wall1 into whose alloy was poured a little bell-metal4 ,sometimes in the repose of my mid-day there reaches my ears a confused tintinnabulum from without4 ,it is the noise of my contemporaries4#fd ,that the brilliant leaves of autumn are not withered ones is proved by the fact that they wilt when gathered as soon as the green4 ,but now1 ,october #cast1 they are all withered4 ,this has been the most perfect afternoon in the year4 ,the air quite warm enough1 perfectly still and dry and clear1 and not a cloud in the sky4 ,scarcely the song of a cricket is heard to disturb the stillness4 ,when they ceased their song ,i do not know4 ,i wonder that the impetus which our hearing had got did not hurry us into deafness over a precipitous silence4 ,there must have been a thick web of cobwebs on the grass this morning1 promising this fair day1 for ,i see them still through the afternoon1 covering not only the grass but the bushes and the trees4 ,they are stretched across the unfrequented roads from weed to weed1 and broken by the legs of the horses4 ,i thought to-day that it would be pleasing to study the dead and withered plants1 the ghosts of plants1 which now remain in the fields1 for they fill almost as large a space to the eye as the green have done4 ,they live not in memory only1 but to the fancy and imagination4 ,as we were passing through ,ashburnham1 by a new white house which stood at some distance in a field1 one passenger exclaimed so that all the passengers could hear him1 8,there1 there's not so good a house as that in all ,canada40 ,and ,i did not much wonder at his remark4 ,there is a neatness as well as thrift and elastic comfort1 a certain flexible easiness of circumstance when not rich1 about a ,new ,england house which the ,canadian houses do not suggest4 ,though of stone1 they were no better constructed than a stone barn would be with us4 ,the only building on which money and taste are expended is the church4#fe ,at ,beauport we examined a magnificent cathedral1 not quite completed1 where ,i do not remember that there were any but the meanest houses in sight around it4 ,our ,indian summer1 ,i am tempted to say1 is the finest season of the year4 ,here has been such a day as ,i think ,italy never sees4 ,though it has been so warm to-day1 ,i found some of the morning's frost still remaining under the north side of a wood1 to my astonishment4 ,why was this beautiful day made1 and no man to improve it8 ,we went through ,seven-,star 787 ,lane to ,white ,pond4 ,looking through a stately pine grove1 ,i saw the western sun falling in golden streams through its aisles4 ,its west side1 opposite to me1 was all lit up with golden light2 but what was ,i to it8 ,such sights remind me of houses which we never inhabit1--that commonly ,i am not at home in the world4 ,i see somewhat fairer than ,i enjoy or possess4 ,a fair afternoon1 a celestial afternoon1 cannot occur but we mar our pleasure by reproaching ourselves that we do not make all our days beautiful4 ,the thought of what ,i am1 of my pitiful conduct1 deters me from receiving what joy ,i might from the glorious days that visit me4 ,after the era of youth is passed1 the knowledge of ourselves is an alloy that spoils our satisfactions4 ,i am wont to think that ,i could spend my days contentedly in any retired country house that ,i see2 for ,i see it to advantage now and without incumbrance2 ,i have not yet imported my humdrum thoughts1 my prosaic habits1 into it to mar the landscape4 ,what is this beauty in the landscape but a certain fertility in me8 ,i look in vain to see it realized but in my own life4 ,if ,i could wholly cease to be ashamed of myself1 ,i think that all my days would be fair4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when ,i asked at the principal bookstore in ,montreal to see such books as were published there1 the answer was that none were published there but those of a statistical character and the like1 that their books came from the ,states4#ff ,two thirds of a page missing ,as once he was riding past ,jennie ,dugan's1 was invited by her boys to look into their mother's spring-house4 ,he looked in4 ,it was a delectable place to keep butter and milk cool and sweet in dog-days1--but there was a leopard frog swimming in the milk1 and another sitting on the edge of the pan4 ,half a page missing4 ,thou art a personality so vast and universal that ,i have never seen one of thy features4 ,i am suddenly very near to another land than can be bought and sold2 this is not ,charles ,miles's swamp4 ,this is a far1 far-away field on the confines of the actual ,concord1 where nature is partially present4 ,these farms ,i have myself surveyed2 these lines ,i have run2 these bounds ,i have set up2 they have no chemistry to fix them2 they fade from the surface of the glass 7the picture72 this light is too strong for them4 ,four and two thirds pages missing4 ,my dear1 my dewy sister1 let thy rain descend on me4 ,i not only love thee1 but ,i love the best of thee2 that is to love thee rarely4 ,i do not love thee every day4 ,commonly ,i love those who are less than thou4 ,i love thee only on great days4 ,thy dewy words feed me like the manna of the morning4 ,i am as much thy sister as thy brother4 ,thou art as much my brother as my sister4 ,it is a portion of thee and a portion of me which are of kin4 ,thou dost not have to woo me4 ,i do not have to woo thee4 ,o my sister6 ,o ,diana1 thy tracks are on the eastern hills4 ,thou surely passedst that way4 ,i1 the hunter1 saw them in the morning dew4 ,my eyes are the hounds that pursue thee4 ,ah1 my friend1 what if ,i do not answer thee8 ,i hear thee4 ,thou canst speak2 ,i cannot4 ,i hear and forget to answer4 ,i am occupied with hearing4 ,i awoke and thought of thee2 thou wast present to my mind4 ,how camest thou there8 ,was ,i not present to thee likewise8#fg 99 99 99 99 99 ,the oystermen had anchored their boat near the shore without regard to the state of the tide1 and when we came to it to set sail1 just after noon1 we found that it was aground4 ,seeing that they were preparing to push it off1 ,i was about to take off my shoes and stockings in order to wade to it first1 but a ,dutch sailor with a singular bullfrog or trilobite expression of the eyes1 whose eyes were like frog ponds in the broad platter of his cheeks and gleamed like a pool covered with frog-spittle1 immediately offered me the use of his back4 ,so mounting1 with my legs under his arms1 and hugging him like one of the family1 he set me aboard of the periauger8 ,they then leaned their hardest against the stern1 bracing their feet against the sandy bottom in two feet of water1 the ,dutchman with his broad back among them4 ,in the most ,dutch-like and easy way they applied themselves to this labor1 while the skipper tried to raise the bows1 never jerking or hustling but silently exerting what vigor was inherent in them1 doing1 no doubt1 their utmost endeavor1 while ,i pushed with a spike pole2 but it was all in vain4 ,it was decided to be unsuccessful2 we did not disturb its bed by a grain of sand4 8,well1 what now80 said ,i4 8,how long have we got to wait80 8,till the tide rises10 said the captain4 ,but no man knew of the tide1 how it was4 ,so ,i went in to bathe1 looking out for sharks and chasing crabs1 and the ,dutchman waded out among the mussels to spear a crab4 ,the skipper stuck a clamshell into the sand at the water's edge to discover if it was rising1 and the sailors1--the ,dutchman and the other1--having got more drink at ,oakes's1 stretched themselves on the seaweed close to the water's edge and went to sleep4 ,after an hour or more we could discover no change in the shell even by a hair's breadth1 from which we learned that it was about the turn of the tide and we must wait some hours longer4#fh ,i once went in search of the relics of a human body--a week after a wreck--which had been cast up the day before on to the beach1 though the sharks had stripped off the flesh4 ,i got the direction from a lighthouse4 ,i should find it a mile or two distant over the sand1 a dozen rods from the water1 by a stick which was stuck up covered with a cloth4 ,pursuing the direction pointed out1 ,i expected that ,i should have to look very narrowly at the sand to find so small an object1 but so completely smooth and bare was the beach--half a mile wide of sand--and so magnifying the mirage toward the sea that when ,i was half a mile distant the insignificant stick or sliver which marked the spot looked like a broken mast in the sand4 ,as if there was no other object1 this trifling sliver had puffed itself up to the vision to fill the void2 and there lay the relics in a certain state1 rendered perfectly inoffensive to both bodily and spiritual eye by the surrounding scenery1--a slight inequality in the sweep of the shore4 ,alone with the sea and the beach1 attending to the sea1 whose hollow roar seemed addressed to the ears of the departed1--articulate speech to them4 ,it was as conspicuous on that sandy plain as if a generation had labored to pile up a cairn there4 ,where there were so few objects1 the least was obvious as a mausoleum4 ,it reigned over the shore4 ,that dead body possessed the shore as no living one could4 ,it showed a title to the sands which no living ruler could4#fi ,my father was commissary at ,fort ,independence in the last war4 ,he says that the baker whom he engaged returned eighteen ounces of bread for sixteen of flour1 and was glad of the job on those terms4 99 99 99 99 99 ,in a pleasant spring morning all men's sins are forgiven4 ,you may have known your neighbor yesterday for a drunkard and a thief1 and merely pitied or despised him1 and despaired of the world2 but the sun shines bright and warm this first spring morning1 and you meet him quietly1 serenely at any work1 and see how even his exhausted1 debauched veins and nerves expand with still joy and bless the new day1 feel the spring influence with the innocence#gj ,two thirds of a page missing4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a good echo from that wood to one standing on the side of ,fair ,haven4 ,it was particularly good to-day4 ,the woodland lungs seemed particularly sound to-day2 they echoed your shout with a fuller and rounder voice than it was given in1 seeming to mouth it4 ,it was uttered with a sort of sweeping intonation half round a vast circle1 ore rotundo1 by a broad dell among the tree-tops passing it round to the entrance of all the aisles of the wood4 ,you had to choose the right key or pitch1 else the woods would not echo it with any spirit1 and so with eloquence4 ,of what significance is any sound if ,nature does not echo it8 ,it does not prevail4 ,it dies away as soon as uttered4 ,i wonder that wild men have not made more of echoes1 or that we do not hear that they have made more4 ,it would be a pleasant1 a soothing and cheerful mission to go about the country in search of them1--articulating1 speaking1 vocal1 oracular1 resounding1 sonorous1 hollow1 prophetic places2 places wherein to found an oracle1 sites for oracles1 sacred ears of ,nature4 ,i used to strike with a paddle on the side of my boat on ,walden ,pond1 filling the surrounding woods with circling and dilating sound1 awaking the woods1 8stirring them up10 as a keeper of a menagerie his lions and tigers1 a growl from all4 ,all melody is a sweet echo1 as it were coincident with the movement of our organs4 ,we wake the echo of the place we are in1 its slumbering music4 ,i should think that savages would have made a god of echo4 ,i will call that ,echo ,wood4 ,crystal ,water for ,white ,pond4 ,there was a sawmill once on ,nut ,meadow ,brook1 near ,jennie's ,road4 ,these little brooks have their history4 ,they once turned sawmills4 ,they even used their influence to destroy the primitive forests which grew on their banks1 and now1 for their reward1 the sun is let in to dry them up and narrow their channels4 ,their crime rebounds against themselves4 ,you still find the traces of ancient dams where the simple brooks were taught to use their influence to destroy the primitive forests on their borders1 and now for penalty they flow in shrunken channels1 with repentant and plaintive tinkling through the wood1 being by an evil spirit turned against their neighbor forests4 ,what does education often do8 ,it makes a straight-cut ditch of a free1 meandering brook4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you must walk like a camel1 which is said to be the only beast which ruminates when it walks4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the actual life of men is not without a dramatic interest to the thinker4 ,it is not in all its respects prosaic4 ,seventy thousand pilgrims proceed annually to ,mecca from the various nations of ,islam4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i was one evening passing a retired farmhouse which had a smooth green plat before it1 just after sundown1 when ,i saw a hen turkey which had gone to roost on the front fence with her wings outspread over her young now pretty well advanced1 who were roosting on the next rail a foot or two below her4 ,it completed a picture of rural repose and happiness such as ,i had not seen for a long time4 ,a particularly neat and quiet place1 where the very ground was swept around the wood-pile4 ,the neighboring fence of roots1 agreeable forms for the traveller to study1 like the bones of marine monsters and the horns of mastodons or megatheriums4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you might say of a philosopher that he was in this world as a spectator4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a squaw came to our door to-day with two pappooses1 and said1 8,me want a pie40 ,theirs is not common begging4 ,you are merely the rich ,indian who shares his goods with the poor4 ,they merely offer you an opportunity to be generous and hospitable4 ,equally simple was the observation which an ,indian made at ,mr4 ,hoar's door the other day1 who went there to sell his baskets4 8,no1 we don't want any10 said the one who went to the door4 8,what6 do you mean to starve us80 asked the ,indian in astonishment1 as he was going out sic the gate4 ,the ,indian seems to have said3 ,i too will do like the white man2 ,i will go into business4 ,he sees his white neighbors well off around him1 and he thinks that if he only enters on the profession of basket-making1 riches will flow in unto him as a matter of course2 just as the lawyer weaves arguments1 and by some magical means wealth and standing follow4 ,he thinks that when he has made the baskets he has done his part1 now it is yours to buy them4 ,he has not discovered that it is necessary for him to make it worth your while to buy them1 or make some which it will be worth your while to buy4 ,with great simplicity he says to himself3 ,i too will be a man of business2 ,i will go into trade4 ,it isn't enough simply to make baskets4 ,you have got to sell them4#ga 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have an uncle who once1 just as he stepped on to the dock at ,new ,york from a steamboat1 saw some strange birds in the water and called to a ,gothamite to know what they were4 ,just then his hat blew off into the dock1 and the man answered by saying1 8,mister1 your hat is off10 whereupon my uncle1 straightening himself up1 asked again with vehemence1 8,blast you1 sir1 ,i want to know what those birds are40 ,by the time that he had got this information1 a sailor had recovered his hat4 ,nov4 #h4 ,the stillness of the woods and fields is remarkable at this season of the year4 ,there is not even the creak of a cricket to be heard4 ,of myriads of dry shrub oak leaves1 not one rustles4 ,your own breath can rustle them1 yet the breath of heaven does not suffice to4 ,the trees have the aspect of waiting for winter4 ,the autumnal leaves have lost their color2 they are now truly sere1 dead1 and the woods wear a sombre color4 ,summer and harvest are over4 ,the hickories1 birches1 chestnuts1 no less than the maples1 have lost their leaves4 ,the sprouts1 which had shot up so vigorously to repair the damage which the choppers had done1 have stopped short for the winter4 ,everything stands silent and expectant4 ,if ,i listen1 ,i hear only the note of a chickadee1--our most common and ,i may say native bird1 most identified with our forests1--or perchance the scream of a jay1 or perchance from the solemn depths of these woods ,i hear tolling far away the knell of one departed4 ,thought rushes in to fill the vacuum4 ,as you walk1 however1 the partridge still bursts away4 ,the silent1 dry1 almost leafless1 certainly fruitless woods4 ,you wonder what cheer that bird can find in them4 ,the partridge bursts away from the foot of a shrub oak like its own dry fruit1 immortal bird6 ,this sound still startles us4 ,dry goldenrods1 now turned gray and white1 lint our clothes as we walk4 ,and the drooping1 downy seed-vessels of the epilobium remind us of the summer4 ,perchance you will meet with a few solitary asters in the dry fields1 with a little color left4 ,the sumach is stripped of everything but its cone of red berries4 ,this is a peculiar season1 peculiar for its stillness4 ,the crickets have ceased their song4 ,the few birds are well-nigh silent4 ,the tinted and gay leaves are now sere and dead1 and the woods wear a sombre aspect4 ,a carpet of snow under the pines and shrub oaks will make it look more cheerful4 ,very few plants have now their spring4 ,but thoughts still spring in man's brain4 ,there are no flowers nor berries to speak of4 ,the grass begins to die at top4 ,in the morning it is stiff with frost4 ,ice has been discovered in somebody's tub very early this morn1 of the thickness of a dollar4 ,the flies are betwixt life and death4 ,the wasps come into the houses and settle on the walls and windows4 ,all insects go into crevices4 ,the fly is entangled in a web and struggles vainly to escape1 but there is no spider to secure him2 the corner of the pane is a deserted camp4 ,when ,i lived in the woods the wasps came by thousands to my lodge in ,november1 as to winter quarters1 and settled on my windows and on the walls over my head1 sometimes deterring visitors from entering4 ,each morning1 when they were numbed with cold1 ,i swept some of them out4 ,but ,i did not trouble myself to get rid of them4 ,they never molested me1 though they bedded with me1 and they gradually disappeared into what crevices ,i do not know1 avoiding winter4#gb ,i saw a squash-bug go slowly behind a clapboard to avoid winter4 ,as some of these melon seeds come up in the garden again in the spring1 so some of these squash-bugs come forth4 ,the flies are for a long time in a somnambulic state4 ,they have too little energy or vis vit to clean their wings or heads1 which are covered with dust4 ,they buzz and bump their heads against the windows two or three times a day1 or lie on their backs in a trance1 and that is all1--two or three short spurts4 ,one of these mornings we shall hear that ,mr4 ,minott had to break the ice to water his cow4 ,and so it will go on till the ground freezes4 ,if the race had never lived through a winter1 what would they think was coming8 ,illustration3 ,november ,woods ,walden ,pond has at last fallen a little4 ,it has been so high over the stones--quite into the bushes--that walkers have been excluded from it4#gc ,there has been no accessible shore4 ,all ponds have been high4 ,the water stood higher than usual in the distant ponds which ,i visited and had never seen before4 ,it has been a peculiar season4 ,at ,goose ,pond1 ,i notice that the birches of one year's growth from the stumps standing in the water are all dead1 apparently killed by the water1 unless1 like the pine1 they die down after springing from the stump4 ,it is warm somewhere any day in the year4 ,you will find some nook in the woods generally1 at mid-forenoon of the most blustering day1 where you may forget the cold4 ,i used to resort to the northeast side of ,walden1 where the sun1 reflected from the pine woods on the stony shore1 made it the fireside of the pond4 ,it is so much pleasanter and wholesomer to be warmed by the sun when you can1 than by a fire4 ,i saw to-day a double reflection on the pond of the cars passing1 one beneath the other1 occasioned by a bright rippled streak on the surface of the water1 from which a second reflection sprang4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one who would study lichens must go into a new country where the rocks have not been burned4 99 99 99 99 99 ,therien says that the ,canadians say marche-donc to their horses2 and that the acid fruit must be spelled painbna4#gd ,he says that the ,french acre or arpent is ten perches by ten1 of eighteen feet each4 ,nov4 #i4 ,it is a pleasant surprise to walk over a hill where an old wood has recently been cut off1 and1 on looking round1 to see1 instead of dense ranks of trees almost impermeable to light1 distant well-known blue mountains in the horizon and perchance a white village over an expanded open country4 ,i now take this in preference to all my old familiar walks4 ,so a new prospect and walks can be created where we least expected it4 ,the old men have seen other prospects from these hills than we do4 ,there was the old ,kettell place1 now ,watt's1 which ,i surveyed for him last winter and lotted off1 where twenty-five years ago ,i played horse in the paths of a thick wood and roasted apples and potatoes in an old pigeon-place#ge and gathered fruit at the pie-apple tree4 ,a week or two after ,i surveyed it1 it now being rotten and going to waste1 ,i walked there and was surprised to find the place and prospect which ,i have described4 ,i found many fresh violets 7,viola pedata7 to-day 7,november #ith7 in the woods4 ,saw a cat on the ,great ,fields1 wilder than a rabbit1 hunting artfully4 ,i remember to have seen one once walking about the stony shore at ,walden ,pond4 ,it is not often that they wander so far from the houses4 ,i once1 however1 met with a cat with young kittens in the woods1 quite wild4#gf ,the leaves of the larch are now yellow and falling off4 ,just a month ago1 ,i observed that the white pines were parti-colored1 green and yellow1 the needles of the previous year now falling4 ,now ,i do not observe any yellow ones1 and ,i expect to find that it is only for a few weeks in the fall after the new leaves have done growing that there are any yellow and falling1--that there is a season when we may say the old pine leaves are now yellow1 and again1 they are fallen4 ,the trees were not so tidy then2 they are not so full now4 ,they look best when contrasted with a field of snow4 ,a rusty sparrow or two only remains to people the drear spaces4 ,it goes to roost without neighbors4 ,it is pleasant to observe any growth in a wood4 ,there is the pitch pine field northeast of ,beck ,stow's ,swamp1 where some years ago ,i went a-blackberrying and observed that the pitch pines were beginning to come in1 and ,i have frequently noticed since how fairly they grew1 dotting the plain as evenly as if dispersed by art4 ,to-day ,i was aware that ,i walked in a pitch pine wood1 which ere long1 perchance1 ,i may survey and lot off for a wood auction and see the choppers at their work4 ,there is also the old pigeon-place field by the ,deep ,cut4 ,i remember it as an open grassy field4 ,it is now one of our most pleasant woodland paths4 ,in the former place1 near the edge of the old wood1 the young pines line each side of the path like a palisade1 they grow so densely4 ,it never rains but it pours1 and so ,i think when ,i see a young grove of pitch pines crowding each other to death in this wide world4 ,these are destined for the locomotive's maw4 ,these branches1 which it has taken so many years to mature1 are regarded even by the woodman as 8trash40 ,delicate1 dry1 feathery 7perchance fescue7 grasses growing out of a tuft1 gracefully bending over the pathway4 ,i do not know what they are1 but they belong to the season4 ,the chickadees1 if ,i stand long enough1 hop nearer and nearer inquisitively1 from pine bough to pine bough1 till within four or five feet1 occasionally lisping a note4 ,the pitcher-plant1 though a little frost-bitten and often cut off by the mower1 now stands full of water in the meadows4 ,i never found one that had not an insect in it4 ,i sometimes see well-preserved walls running straight through the midst of high and old woods1 built1 of course1 when the soil was cultivated many years ago1 and am surprised to see slight stones still lying one upon another1 as the builder placed them1 while this huge oak has grown up from a chance acorn in the soil4 ,though a man were known to have only one acquaintance in the world1 yet there are so many men in the world1 and they are so much alike1 that when he spoke what might be construed personally1 no one would know certainly whom he meant4 ,though there were but two on a desolate island1 they would conduct toward each other in this respect as if each had intercourse with a thousand others4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i saw in ,canada two or three persons wearing homespun gray greatcoats1 with comical and conical hoods which fell back on their backs between the shoulders1 like small bags ready to be turned up over the head when need was1 though then a hat usurped that place4 ,i saw that these must be what are called capots4 ,they looked as if they would be convenient and proper enough as long as the coats were new and tidy1 but as if they would soon come to look like rags and unsightly4#gg ,nov4 #aa4 ,gathered to-day the autumnal dandelion 787 and the common dandelion4 ,some farmers' wives use the white ashes of corn-cobs instead of pearlash4 ,i am attracted by a fence made of white pine roots4 ,there is1 or rather was1 one 7for it has been tipped into the gutter this year7 on the road to ,hubbard's ,bridge which ,i can remember for more than twenty years4 ,it is almost as indestructible as a wall and certainly requires fewer repairs4 ,it is light1 white1 and dry withal1 and its fantastic forms are agreeable to my eye4 ,one would not have believed that any trees had such snarled and gnarled roots4 ,in some instances you have a coarse network of roots as they interlaced on the surface perhaps of a swamp1 which1 set on its edge1 really looks like a fence1 with its paling crossing at various angles1 and root repeatedly growing into root1--a rare phenomenon above ground1--so as to leave open spaces1 square and diamond-shaped and triangular1 quite like a length of fence4 ,it is remarkable how white and clean these roots are1 and that no lichens1 or very few1 grow on them2 so free from decay are they4 ,the different branches of the roots continually grow into one another1 so as to make grotesque figures1 sometimes rude harps whose resonant strings of roots give a sort of musical sound when struck1 such as the earth spirit might play on4 ,sometimes the roots are of a delicate wine-color here and there1 an evening tint4 ,no line of fence could be too long for me to study each individual stump4 ,rocks would have been covered with lichens by this time4 ,perhaps they are grown into one another that they may stand more firmly4 ,now is the time for wild apples4 ,i pluck them as a wild fruit native to this quarter of the earth1 fruit of old trees that have been dying ever since ,i was a boy and are not yet dead4 ,from the appearance of the tree you would expect nothing but lichens to drop from it1 but underneath your faith is rewarded by finding the ground strewn with spirited fruit4 ,frequented only by the woodpecker1 deserted now by the farmer1 who has not faith enough to look under the boughs4#gh ,food for walkers4 ,sometimes apples red inside1 perfused with a beautiful blush1 faery food1 too beautiful to eat1--apple of the evening sky1 of the ,hesperides4#gi ,this afternoon ,i heard a single cricket singing1 chirruping1 in a bank1 the only one ,i have heard for a long time1 like a squirrel or a little bird1 clear and shrill1--as ,i fancied1 like an evening robin1 singing in this evening of the year4 ,a very fine and poetical strain for such a little singer4 ,i had never before heard the cricket so like a bird4 ,it is a remarkable note4 ,the earth-song4 ,that delicate1 waving1 feathery dry grass which ,i saw yesterday is to be remembered with the autumn4 ,the dry grasses are not dead for me4 ,a beautiful form has as much life at one season as another4 ,i notice that everywhere in the pastures minute young fragrant life-everlasting1 with only four or five flat-lying leaves and thread-like roots1 all together as big as a fourpence1 spot the ground1 like winter rye and grass which roots itself in the fall against another year4 ,these little things have bespoken their places for the next season4 ,they have a little pellet of cotton or down in their centres1 ready for an early start in the spring4 ,the autumnal 787 dandelion is still bright4 ,i saw an old bone in the woods covered with lichens1 which looked like the bone of an old settler1 which yet some little animal had recently gnawed1 and ,i plainly saw the marks of its teeth1 so indefatigable is ,nature to strip the flesh from bones and return it to dust again4 ,no little rambling beast can go by some dry and ancient bone but he must turn aside and try his teeth upon it4 ,an old bone is knocked about till it becomes dust2 ,nature has no mercy on it4 ,it was quite too ancient to suggest disagreeable associations4 ,it was like a piece of dry pine root4 ,it survives like the memory of a man4 ,with time all that was personal and offensive wears off4 ,the tooth of envy may sometimes gnaw it and reduce it more rapidly1 but it is much more a prey to forgetfulness4 ,lichens grow upon it1 and at last1 in what moment no man knows1 it has completely wasted away and ceases to be a bone any longer4 ,the fields are covered now with the empty cups of the ,trichostema dichotomum1 all dry4 ,we had a remarkable sunset to-night4 ,i was walking in the meadow1 the source of ,nut ,meadow ,brook4#hj ,two pages missing4 ,we walked in so pure and bright a light1 so softly and serenely bright1 ,i thought ,i had never bathed in such a golden flood1 without a ripple or a murmur to it4 ,the west side of every wood and rising ground gleamed like the boundary of ,elysium4#ha ,an adventurous spirit turns the evening into morning4 ,a little black brook in the midst of the marsh1 just beginning to meander1 winding slowly round a decaying stump1--an artery of the meadow4#hb ,some circumstantial evidence is very strong1 as when you find a trout in the milk4 ,a people who would begin by burning the fences and let the forest stand6 ,i saw the fences half consumed1 their ends lost in the middle of the prairie1 and some worldly miser with a surveyor looking after his bounds1 while heaven had taken place around him1 and he did not see the angels around1 but was looking for an old post-hole in the midst of paradise4 ,i looked again and saw him standing in the middle of a boggy ,stygian fen1 surrounded by devils1 and he had found his bounds without a doubt1 three little stones where a stake had been driven1 and1 looking nearer1 ,i saw that the ,prince of ,darkness was his surveyor4#hc ,nov4 #ad4 ,saw to-day1 while surveying in the ,second ,division woods1 a singular round mound in a valley1 made perhaps sixty or seventy years ago4 ,cyrus ,stow thought it was a pigeon-bed1 but ,i soon discovered the coal and that it was an old coal-pit4 ,i once mistook one in the ,maine woods for an ,indian mound4 ,the indestructible charcoal told the tale4 ,i had noticed singular holes and trenches in the former wood1 as if a fox had been dug out4 ,the sun has probably been let in here many times1 and this has been a cultivated field2 and now it is clothed in a savage dress again4 ,the wild1 rank1 luxuriant place is where mosses and lichens abound4 ,we find no heroes' cairns except those of heroic colliers1 who once sweated here begrimed and dingy1 who lodged here1 tending their fires1 who lay on a beetle here1 perchance1 to keep awake4 ,nov4 #ae4 ,i saw to-day a very perfect lichen on a rock in a meadow4 ,it formed a perfect circle about fifteen inches in diameter though the rock was uneven1 and was handsomely shaded by a darker stripe of older leaves1 an inch or more wide1 just within its circumference1 like a rich lamp-mat4 ,the recent growth on the outside1 half an inch in width1 was a sort of tea-green or bluish-green color4 ,the ivy berries are now sere and yellowish1 or sand-colored1 like the berries of the dogwood4 ,the farmers are now casting out their manure1 and removing the muck-heap from the shore of ponds where it will be inaccessible in the winter2 or are doing their fall plowing1 which destroys many insects and mellows the soil4 ,i also see some pulling their turnips1 and even getting in corn which has been left out notwithstanding the crows4 ,those who have wood to sell1 as the weather grows colder and people can better appreciate the value of fuel1 lot off their woods and advertise a wood auction4 99 99 99 99 99 ,you can tell when a cat has seen a dog by the size of her tail4 ,nov4 #af4 ,i found three good arrowheads to-day behind ,dennis's4 ,the season for them began some time ago1 as soon as the farmers had sown their winter rye1 but the spring1 after the melting of the snow1 is still better4 ,i am accustomed to regard the smallest brook with as much interest for the time being as if it were the ,orinoco or ,mississippi4 ,what is the difference1 ,i would like to know1 but mere size8 ,and when a tributary rill empties in1 it is like the confluence of famous rivers ,i have read of4 ,when ,i cross one on a fence1 ,i love to pause in mid-passage and look down into the water1 and study its bottom1 its little mystery4 ,there is none so small but you may see a pickerel regarding you with a wary eye1 or a pygmy trout glance from under the bank1 or in spring1 perchance1 a sucker will have found its way far up its stream4 ,you are sometimes astonished to see a pickerel far up some now shrunken rill1 where it is a mere puddle by the roadside4 ,i have stooped to drink at a clear spring no bigger than a bushel basket in a meadow1 from which a rill was scarcely seen to dribble away1 and seen lurking at its bottom two little pickerel not so big as my finger1 sole monarchs of this their ocean1 and who probably would never visit a larger water4 ,in literature it is only the wild that attracts us4 ,dullness is only another name for tameness4 ,it is the untamed1 uncivilized1 free1 and wild thinking in ,hamlet1 in the ,iliad1 and in all the scriptures and mythologies that delights us1--not learned in the schools1 not refined and polished by art4 ,a truly good book is something as wildly natural and primitive1 mysterious and marvellous1 ambrosial and fertile1 as a fungus or a lichen4#hd ,suppose the muskrat or beaver were to turn his views sic to literature1 what fresh views of nature would he present6 ,the fault of our books and other deeds is that they are too humane1 ,i want something speaking in some measure to the condition of muskrats and skunk-cabbage as well as of men1--not merely to a pining and complaining coterie of philanthropists4 ,i discover again about these times that cranberries are good to eat in small quantities as you are crossing the meadows4 ,i hear deep amid the birches some row among the birds or the squirrels1 where evidently some mystery is being developed to them4 ,the jay is on the alert1 mimicking every woodland note4 ,what has happened8 ,who's dead8 ,the twitter retreats before you1 and you are never let into the secret4 ,some tragedy surely is being enacted1 but murder will out4 ,how many little dramas are enacted in the depth of the woods at which man is not present6 ,when ,i am considering which way ,i will walk1 my needle is slow to settle1 my compass varies by a few degrees and does not always point due southwest2 and there is good authority for these variations in the heavens4 ,it pursues the straighter course for it at last1 like the ball which has come out of a rifle1 or the quoit that is twirled when cast4 ,to-day it is some particular wood or meadow or deserted pasture in that direction that is my southwest4#he ,i love my friends very much1 but ,i find that it is of no use to go to see them4 ,i hate them commonly when ,i am near them4 ,they belie themselves and deny me continually4 ,somebody shut the cat's tail in the door just now1 and she made such a caterwaul as has driven two whole worlds out of my thoughts4 ,i saw unspeakable things in the sky and looming in the horizon of my mind1 and now they are all reduced to a cat's tail4 ,vast films of thought floated through my brain1 like clouds pregnant with rain enough to fertilize and restore a world1 and now they are all dissipated4 ,there is a place whither ,i should walk to-day4 ,though oftenest ,i fail to find1 when by accident ,i ramble into it1 great is my delight4 ,i have stood by my door sometimes half an hour1 irresolute as to what course ,i should take4#hf ,apparently all but the evergreens and oaks have lost their leaves now4 ,it is singular that the shrub oaks retain their leaves through the winter4 ,why do they8 ,the walnut trees spot the sky with black nuts4 ,only catkins are seen on the birches4 ,i saw the other day a dead limb which the wind or some other cause had broken nearly off1 which had lost none of its leaves1 though all the rest of the tree1 which was flourishing1 had shed them4 ,there seems to be in the fall a sort of attempt at a spring1 a rejuvenescence1 as if the winter were not expected by a part of nature4 ,violets1 dandelions1 and some other flowers blossom again1 and mulleins and innumerable other plants begin again to spring and are only checked by the increasing cold4 ,there is a slight uncertainty whether there will be any winter this year4 ,i was pleased to-day to hear a great noise and trampling in the woods produced by some cows which came running toward their homes1 which apparently had been scared by something unusual1 as their ancestors might have been by wolves4 ,i have known sheep to be scared in the same way and a whole flock to run bleating to me for protection4 ,what shall we do with a man who is afraid of the woods1 their solitude and darkness8 ,what salvation is there for him8 ,god is silent and mysterious4 ,some of our richest days are those in which no sun shines outwardly1 but so much the more a sun shines inwardly4 ,i love nature1 ,i love the landscape1 because it is so sincere4 ,it never cheats me4 ,it never jests4 ,it is cheerfully1 musically earnest4 ,i lie and relie sic on the earth4 ,land where the wood has been cut off and is just beginning to come up again is called sprout land4 ,the sweet-scented life-everlasting has not lost its scent yet1 but smells like the balm of the fields4 ,the partridge-berry leaves checker the ground on the side of moist hillsides in the woods4 ,are they not properly called checker-berries8 ,the era of wild apples will soon be over4 ,i wander through old orchards of great extent1 now all gone to decay1 all of native fruit which for the most part went to the cider-mill4 ,but since the temperance reform and the general introduction of grafted fruit1 no wild apples1 such as ,i see everywhere in deserted pastures1 and where the woods have grown up among them1 are set out4 ,i fear that he who walks over these hills a century hence will not know the pleasure of knocking off wild apples4 ,ah1 poor man6 there are many pleasures which he will be debarred from6 ,notwithstanding the prevalence of the ,baldwin and the ,porter1 ,i doubt if as extensive orchards are set out to-day in this town as there were a century ago1 when these vast straggling cider-orchards were planted4 ,men stuck in a tree then by every wall-side and let it take its chance4 ,i see nobody planting trees to-day in such out of the way places1 along almost every road and lane and wall-side1 and at the bottom of dells in the wood4 ,now that they have grafted trees and pay a price for them1 they collect them into a plot by their houses and fence them in4#hg ,my ,journal should be the record of my love4 ,i would write in it only of the things ,i love1 my affection for any aspect of the world1 what ,i love to think of4 ,i have no more distinctness or pointedness in my yearnings than an expanding bud1 which does indeed point to flower and fruit1 to summer and autumn1 but is aware of the warm sun and spring influence only4 ,i feel ripe for something1 yet do nothing1 can't discover what that thing is4 ,i feel fertile merely4 ,it is seedtime with me4 ,i have lain fallow long enough4 ,notwithstanding a sense of unworthiness which possesses me1 not without reason1 notwithstanding that ,i regard myself as a good deal of a scamp1 yet for the most part the spirit of the universe is unaccountably kind to me1 and ,i enjoy perhaps an unusual share of happiness4 ,yet ,i question sometimes if there is not some settlement to come4 ,nov4 #ag4 ,it is a strange age of the world this1 when empires1 kingdoms1 and republics come a-begging to our doors and utter their complaints at our elbows4 ,i cannot take up a newspaper but ,i find that some wretched government or other1 hard pushed and on its last legs1 is interceding with me1 the reader1 to vote for it1--more importunate than an ,italian beggar4 ,why does it not keep its castle in silence1 as ,i do8 ,the poor ,president1 what with preserving his popularity and doing his duty1 does not know what to do4 ,if you do not read the newspapers1 you may be impeached for treason4 ,the newspapers are the ruling power4 ,what ,congress does is an afterclap4 ,any other government is reduced to a few marines at ,fort ,independence4 ,if a man neglects to read the ,daily ,times1 government will go on its knees to him2 this is the only treason in these days4 ,the newspapers devote some of their columns specially to government and politics without charge1 and this is all that saves it1 but ,i never read those columns4#hh ,i found this afternoon1 in a field of winter rye1 a snapping turtle's egg1 white and elliptical like a pebble1 mistaking it for which ,i broke it4 ,the little turtle was perfectly formed1 even to the dorsal ridge1 which was distinctly visible4 99 99 99 99 99 8,chesipooc ,sinus0 is on ,wytfliet's ,map of #aei-4 ,even the ,dutch were forward to claim the great river of ,canada4 ,in a map of ,new ,belgium in ,ogilby's 8,america10 #afgj1 the ,st4 ,lawrence is also called 8,de ,groote ,rivier van ,niew ,nederlandt40#hi ,on this same map1 east of ,lake ,champlain1 called 8,lacus ,irocoisiensis0 or in ,dutch 8,meer der ,irocoisen10 is a chain of mountains answering to the ,green ,mountains of ,vermont1 and 8,irocoisia10 or the country of the ,iroquois1 between the mountains and the lake4 ,nov4 #ai4 ,the first really cold day4 ,i find1 on breaking off a shrub oak leaf1 a little life at the foot of the leafstalk1 so that a part of the green comes off4 ,it has not died quite down to the point of separation1 as it will do1 ,i suppose1 before spring4 ,most of the oaks have lost their leaves except on the lower branches1 as if they were less exposed and less mature there1 and felt the changes of the seasons less4 ,the leaves have either fallen or withered long since1 yet ,i found this afternoon1 cold as it is1--and there has been snow in the neighborhood1--some sprouts which had come up this year from the stump of a young black-looking oak1 covered still with handsome fresh red and green leaves1 very large and unwithered and unwilted4 ,it was on the south side of ,fair ,haven in a warm angle1 where the wood was cut last winter and the exposed edge of the still standing wood running north and south met the cliff at right angles and served for a fence to keep off the wind4 ,there were one or two stumps here whose sprouts had fresh leaves which transported me back to ,october4 ,yet the surrounding shrub oak leaves were as dry and dead as usual4 ,there were also some minute birches only a year old1 their leaves still freshly yellow1 and some young wild apple trees apparently still growing1 their leaves as green and tender as in summer4 ,the goldenrods1 one or more species of the white and some yellow ones1 were many of them still quite fresh1 though elsewhere they are all whitish and dry4 ,i saw one whose top rose above the edge of a rock1 and so much of it was turned white and dry2 but the lower part of its raceme was still yellow4 ,some of the white species seemed to have started again as if for another spring4 ,they had sprung up freshly a foot or more1 and were budded to blossom1 fresh and green4 ,and sometimes on the same stem were old and dry and white downy flowers1 and fresh green blossom-buds not yet expanded4 ,i saw there some pale blue asters still bright1 and the mullein leaves still large and green1 one green to its top4 ,and ,i discovered that when ,i put my hand on the mullein leaves they felt decidedly warm1 but the radical leaves of the goldenrods felt cold and clammy4 ,there was also the columbine1 its leaves still alive and green2 and ,i was pleased to smell the pennyroyal which ,i had bruised1 though this dried up long ago4 ,each season is thus drawn out and lingers in certain localities1 as the birds and insects know very well4 ,if you penetrate to some warm recess under a cliff in the woods1 you will be astonished at the amount of summer life that still flourishes there4 ,no doubt more of the summer's life than we are aware thus slips by and outmanuvres the winter1 gliding from fence to fence4 ,i have no doubt that a diligent search in proper places would discover many more of our summer flowers thus lingering till the snow came1 than we suspect4 ,it is as if the plant made no preparation for winter4 ,now that the grass is withered and the leaves are withered or fallen1 it begins to appear what is evergreen3 the partridge-berry and checkerberry1 and wintergreen leaves even1 are more conspicuous4 ,the old leaves have been off the pines now for a month4 ,i once found a kernel of corn in the middle of a deep wood by ,walden1 tucked in behind a lichen on a pine1 about as high as my head1 either by a crow or a squirrel4 ,it was a mile at least from any corn-field4 ,several species plainly linger till the snow comes4 ,nov4 #bj4 ,it is a common saying among country people that if you eat much fried hasty pudding it will make your hair curl4 ,my experience1 which was considerable1 did not confirm this assertion4 ,horace ,hosmer was picking out to-day half a bushel or more of a different and better kind of cranberry1 as he thought1 separating them from the rest4 ,they are very dark red1 shaded with lighter1 harder and more oblong1 somewhat like the fruit of the sweet-briar or a ,canada red plum1 though ,i have no common cranberry to compare with them4 ,he says that they grow apart from the others4 ,i must see him about it4 ,it may prove to be one more of those instances in which the farmer detects a new species and makes use of the knowledge from year to year in his profession1 while the botanist expressly devoted to such investigation has failed to observe it4 ,the farmer1 in picking over many bushels of cranberries year after year1 finds at length1 or has forced upon his observation1 a new species of that berry1 and avails himself thereafter of his discovery for many years before the naturalist is aware of the fact4 ,desor1 who has been among the ,indians at ,lake ,superior this summer1 told me the other day that they had a particular name for each species of tree1 as of the maple1 but they had but one word for flowers2 they did not distinguish the species of the last4 ,it is often the unscientific man who discovers the new species4 ,it would be strange if it were not so4 ,but we are accustomed properly to call that only a scientific discovery which knows the relative value of the thing discovered1 uncovers a fact to mankind4 ,nov4 #ba4 ,for a month past the grass under the pines has been covered with a new carpet of pine leaves4 ,it is remarkable that the old leaves turn and fall in so short a time4 ,some of the densest and most impenetrable clumps of bushes ,i have seen1 as well on account of the closeness of their branches as of their thorns1 have been wild apples4 ,its sic branches as stiff as those of the black spruce on the tops of mountains4#ij ,i saw a herd of a dozen cows and young steers and oxen on ,conantum this afternoon1 running about and frisking in unwieldy sport like huge rats4 ,any sportiveness in cattle is unexpected4 ,they even played like kittens1 in their way2 shook their heads1 raised their tails1 and rushed up and down the hill4#ia ,the witch-hazel blossom on ,conantum has for the most part lost its ribbons now4 ,some distant angle in the sun where a lofty and dense white pine wood1 with mingled gray and green1 meets a hill covered with shrub oaks1 affects me singularly1 reinspiring me with all the dreams of my youth4 ,it is a place far away1 yet actual and where we have been4 ,i saw the sun falling on a distant white pine wood whose gray and moss-covered stems were visible amid the green1 in an angle where this forest abutted on a hill covered with shrub oaks4 ,it was like looking into dreamland4 ,it is one of the avenues to my future4 ,certain coincidences like this are accompanied by a certain flash as of hazy lightning1 flooding all the world suddenly with a tremulous serene light which it is difficult to see long at a time4 ,i saw ,fair ,haven ,pond with its island1 and meadow between the island and the shore1 and a strip of perfectly still and smooth water in the lee of the island1 and two hawks1 fish hawks perhaps1 sailing over it4 ,i did not see how it could be improved4 ,yet ,i do not see what these things can be4 ,i begin to see such an object when ,i cease to understand it and see that ,i did not realize or appreciate it before1 but ,i get no further than this4 ,how adapted these forms and colors to my eye6 ,a meadow and an island6 ,what are these things8 ,yet the hawks and the ducks keep so aloof6 and ,nature is so reserved6 ,i am made to love the pond and the meadow1 as the wind is made to ripple the water4#ib ,as ,i looked on the ,walden woods eastward across the pond1 ,i saw suddenly a white cloud rising above their tops1 now here1 now there1 marking the progress of the cars which were rolling toward ,boston far below1 behind many hills and woods4 ,october must be the month of ripe and tinted leaves4 ,throughout ,november they are almost entirely withered and sombre1 the few that remain4 ,in this month the sun is valued4 ,when it shines warmer or brighter we are sure to observe it4 ,there are not so many colors to attract the eye4 ,we begin to remember the summer4 ,we walk fast to keep warm4 ,for a month past ,i have sat by a fire4 ,every sunset inspires me with the desire to go to a ,west as distant and as fair as that into which the sun goes down4#ic ,i get nothing to eat in my walks now but wild apples1 sometimes some cranberries1 and some walnuts4 ,the squirrels have got the hazelnuts and chestnuts4 ,nov4 #bc4 ,to-day it has been finger-cold4#id ,unexpectedly ,i found ice by the side of the brooks this afternoon nearly an inch thick4 ,prudent people get in their barrels of apples to-day4#ie ,the difference of the temperature of various localities is greater than is supposed4 ,if ,i was surprised to find ice on the sides of the brooks1 ,i was much more surprised to find quite a pond in the woods1 containing an acre or more1 quite frozen over so that ,i walked across it4 ,it was in a cold corner1 where a pine wood excluded the sun4 ,in the larger ponds and the river1 of course1 there is no ice yet4 ,it is a shallow1 weedy pond4 ,i lay down on the ice and looked through at the bottom4 ,the plants appeared to grow more uprightly than on the dry land1 being sustained and protected by the water4 ,caddis-worms were everywhere crawling about in their handsome quiver-like sheaths or cases4 ,the wild apples1 though they are more mellow and edible1 have for some time lost their beauty1 as well as the leaves1 and now too they are beginning to freeze4 ,the apple season is well-nigh over4 ,such1 however1 as are frozen while sound are not unpleasant to eat when the spring sun thaws them4#if ,i find it to be the height of wisdom not to endeavor to oversee myself and live a life of prudence and common sense1 but to see over and above myself1 entertain sublime conjectures1 to make myself the thoroughfare of thrilling thoughts1 live all that can be lived4 ,the man who is dissatisfied with himself1 what can he not do8 ,nov4 #bd4 ,plucked a buttercup on ,bear ,hill to-day4 ,i have certain friends whom ,i visit occasionally1 but ,i commonly part from them early with a certain bitter-sweet sentiment4 ,that which we love is so mixed and entangled with that we hate in one another that we are more grieved and disappointed1 aye1 and estranged from one another1 by meeting than by absence4 ,some men may be my acquaintances merely1 but one whom ,i have been accustomed to regard1 to idealize1 to have dreams about as a friend1 and mix up intimately with myself1 can never degenerate into an acquaintance4 ,i must know him on that higher ground or not know him at all4 ,we do not confess and explain1 because we would fain be so intimately related as to understand each other without speech4 ,our friend must be broad4 ,his must be an atmosphere coextensive with the universe1 in which we can expand and breathe4 ,for the most part we are smothered and stifled by one another4 ,i go and see my friend and try his atmosphere4 ,if our atmospheres do not mingle1 if we repel each other strongly1 it is of no use to stay4 ,nov4 #be4 ,i feel a little alarmed when it happens that ,i have walked a mile into the woods bodily1 without getting there in spirit4 ,i would fain forget all my morning's occupation1 my obligations to society4 ,but sometimes it happens that ,i cannot easily shake off the village2 the thought of some work1 some surveying1 will run in my head1 and ,i am not where my body is1 ,i am out of my senses4 ,in my walks ,i would return to my senses like a bird or a beast4 ,what business have ,i in the woods1 if ,i am thinking of something out of the woods8#ig ,this afternoon1 late and cold as it is1 has been a sort of ,indian summer4 ,indeed1 ,i think that we have summer days from time to time the winter through1 and that it is often the snow on the ground makes the whole difference4 ,this afternoon the air was indescribably clear and exhilarating1 and though the thermometer would have shown it to be cold1 ,i thought that there was a finer and purer warmth than in summer2 a wholesome1 intellectual warmth1 in which the body was warmed by the mind's contentment4 ,the warmth was hardly sensuous1 but rather the satisfaction of existence4 ,i found ,fair ,haven skimmed entirely over1 though the stones which ,i threw down on it from the high bank on the east broke through4 ,yet the river was open4 ,the landscape looked singularly clean and pure and dry1 the air1 like a pure glass1 being laid over the picture1 the trees so tidy1 stripped of their leaves2 the meadows and pastures1 clothed with clean dry grass1 looked as if they had been swept2 ice on the water and winter in the air1 but yet not a particle of snow on the ground4 ,the woods1 divested in great part of their leaves1 are being ventilated4 ,it is the season of perfect works1 of hard1 tough1 ripe twigs1 not of tender buds and leaves4 ,the leaves have made their wood1 and a myriad new withes stand up all around pointing to the sky1 able to survive the cold4 ,it is only the perennial that you see1 the iron age of the year4 ,these expansions of the river skim over before the river itself takes on its icy fetters4 ,what is the analogy8 ,i saw a muskrat come out of a hole in the ice4 ,he is a man wilder than ,ray or ,melvin4 ,while ,i am looking at him1 ,i am thinking what he is thinking of me4 ,he is a different sort of a man1 that is all4 ,he would dive when ,i went nearer1 then reappear again1 and had kept open a place five or six feet square so that it had not frozen1 by swimming about in it4 ,then he would sit on the edge of the ice and busy himself about something1 ,i could not see whether it was a clam or not4 ,what a cold-blooded fellow6 thoughts at a low temperature1 sitting perfectly still so long on ice covered with water1 mumbling a cold1 wet clam in its shell4 ,what safe1 low1 moderate thoughts it must have6 ,it does not get on to stilts4 ,the generations of muskrats do not fail4 ,they are not preserved by the legislature of ,massachusetts4 ,boats are drawn up high which will not be launched again till spring4 ,there is a beautiful fine wild grass which grows in the path in sprout land1 now dry1 white1 and waving1 in light beds soft to the touch4 ,i experience such an interior comfort1 far removed from the sense of cold1 as if the thin atmosphere were rarefied by heat1 were the medium of invisible flames1 as if the whole landscape were one great hearthside1 that where the shrub oak leaves rustle on the hillside1 ,i seem to hear a crackling fire and see the pure flame1 and ,i wonder that the dry leaves do not blaze into yellow flames4 ,i find but little change yet on the south side of the ,cliffs2 only the leaves of the wild apple are a little frostbitten on their edges and curled dry there2 but some wild cherry leaves and blueberries are still fresh and tender green and red1 as well as all the other leaves and plants which ,i noticed there the other day4 ,when ,i got up so high on the side of the ,cliff the sun was setting like an ,indian-summer sun4 ,there was a purple tint in the horizon4 ,it was warm on the face of the rocks1 and ,i could have sat till the sun disappeared1 to dream there4 ,it was a mild sunset such as is to be attended to4 ,just as the sun shines into us warmly and serenely1 our ,creator breathes on us and re-creates us4 ,nov4 #bf4 ,an inch of snow on ground this morning1--our first4 ,went to-night to see the ,indians1 who are still living in tents4 ,showed the horns of the moose1 the black moose they call it1 that goes in lowlands4 ,horns three or four feet wide4 7,the red moose they say is another kind2 runs on mountains and has horns six feet wide47 ,can move their horns4 ,the broad1 flat side portions of the horns are covered with hair1 and are so soft when the creature is alive that you can run a knife through them4#ih ,they color the lower portions a darker color by rubbing them on alders1 etc41 to harden them4 ,make kee-nong-gun or pappoose cradle1 of the broad part of the horn1 putting a rim on it4 ,once scared1 will run all day4 ,a dog will hang to their lips and be carried along and swung against a tree and drop off4 ,always find two or three together4 ,can't run on glare ice1 but can run in snow four feet deep4 ,the caribou can run on ice4#ii ,sometimes spear them with a sharp pole1 sometimes with a knife at the end of a pole4 ,signs1 good or bad1 from the turn of the horns4 ,their caribou-horns had been gnawed by mice in their wigwams4 ,the moose-horns and others are not gnawed by mice while the creature is alive4 ,moose cover themselves with water1 all but noses1 to escape flies4#ajj ,about as many now as fifty years ago4 ,imitated the sounds of the moose1 caribou1 and deer with a birch-bark horn1 which last they sometimes make very long4 ,the moose can be heard eight or ten miles sometimes1--a loud sort of bellowing sound1 clearer1 more sonorous than the looing of cattle4 ,the caribou's1 a sort of snort2 the small deer1 like a lamb4 ,made their clothes of the young moose-skin4 ,cure the meat by smoking it2 use no salt in curing it1 but when they eat it4 ,their spear very serviceable4 ,the inner1 pointed part1 of a hemlock knot2 the side spring pieces1 of hickory4 ,spear salmon1 pickerel1 trout1 chub1 etc42 also by birch-bark light at night1 using the other end of spear as pole4 ,illustration ,their sled1 jeborgon or jebongon 7871 one foot wide1 four or five long1 of thin wood turned up in front2 draw by a strong rope of basswood bark4 ,canoe of moose-hide4 ,one hide will hold three or four4 ,can be taken apart and put together very quickly4 ,can take out cross-bars and bring the sides together4 ,a very convenient boat to carry and cross streams with4 ,they say they did not make birch canoes till they had edge tools4 ,the birches the lightest4 ,they think our birches the same1 only second growth4 ,their kee-nong-gun1 or cradle1 has a hoop to prevent the child being hurt when it falls4 ,can't eat dirt2 can be hung up out of way of snakes4 ,aboak-henjo 81 a birch-bark vessel for water4 ,can boil meat in it with hot stones2 takes a long time4 ,also a vessel of birch bark1 shaped like a pan4 ,both ornamented by scratching the bark1 which is wrong side out4 ,very neatly made4 ,valued our kettles much4 ,illustration ,did not know use of eye in axe4 ,put a string through it and wore it round neck4 ,cut toes4 ,did not like gun4 ,killed one moose2 scared all the rest4 ,the squaw-heegun for cooking1 a mere stick put through the game and stuck in the ground slanted over the fire1 a spit4 ,can be eating one side while the other is doing4 ,the ar-tu-e-se1 a stick1 string1 and bunch of leaves1 which they toss and catch on the point of the stick4 ,make great use of it4 ,make the clouds go off the sun with it4 ,snowshoes of two kinds2 one of same shape at both ends so that the ,mohawks could not tell which way they were going4 7,put some rags in the heel-hole to make a toe-mark87 ,illustration3 ,side ,view ,illustrations ,log trap to catch many kinds of animals4 ,some for bears let the log fall six or seven feet4 ,first there is a frame1 then the little stick which the animal moves1 presses down1 as he goes through under the log2 then the crooked stick is hung over the top of the frame1 and holds up the log by a string2 the weight of the log on this keeps the little stick up4 ,a drizzling and misty day this has been1 melting the snow4 ,the mist1 divided into a thousand ghostly forms1 was blowing across ,walden4 ,mr4 ,emerson's ,cliff ,hill1 seen from the railroad through the mist1 looked like a dark1 heavy1 frowning ,new ,hampshire mountain4 ,i do not understand fully why hills look so much larger at such a time1 unless1 being the most distant we see and in the horizon1 we suppose them farther off and so magnify them4 ,i think there can be no looming about it4 ,nov4 #bh4 ,thursday4 ,cold drizzling and misty rains1 which have melted the little snow4 ,the farmers are beginning to pick up their dead wood4 ,within a day or two the walker finds gloves to be comfortable1 and begins to think of an outside coat and of boots4 ,embarks in his boots for the winter voyage4 ,the ,indian talked about 8our folks0 and 8your folks10 8my grandfather0 and 8my grandfather's cousin10 ,samoset4 ,it is remarkable1 but nevertheless true1 as far as my observation goes1 that women1 to whom we commonly concede a somewhat finer and more sibylline nature1 yield a more implicit obedience even to their animal instincts than men4 ,the nature in them is stronger1 the reason weaker4 ,there are1 for instance1 many young and middle-aged men among my acquaintance--shoemakers1 carpenters1 farmers1 and others--who have scruples about using animal food1 but comparatively few girls or women4 ,the latter1 even the most refined1 are the most intolerant of such reforms4 ,i think that the reformer of the severest1 as well as finest1 class will find more sympathy in the intellect and philosophy of man than in the refinement and delicacy of woman4 ,it is1 perchance1 a part of woman's conformity and easy nature4 ,her savior must not be too strong1 stern1 and intellectual1 but charitable above all things4 ,the thought of its greater independence and its closeness to nature diminishes the pain ,i feel when ,i see a more interesting child than usual destined to be brought up in a shanty4 ,i see that for the present the child is happy and is not puny1 and has all the wonders of nature for its toys4 ,have ,i not faith that its tenderness will in some way be cherished and protected1 as the buds of the spring in the remotest and wildest wintry dell no less than in the garden plot and summer-house8 ,i am the little ,irish boy ,that lives in the shanty4 ,i am four years old to-day ,and shall soon be one and twenty4 ,i shall grow up ,and be a great man1 ,and shovel all day ,as hard as ,i can4 ,down in the ,deep ,cut1 99 99 99 99 99 ,where the men lived ,who made the railroad4 ,for supper ,i have some potato ,and sometimes some bread1 ,and then1 if it's cold1 ,i go right to bed4 ,i lie on some straw ,under my father's coat4 ,at recess ,i play ,with little ,billy ,gray1 ,and when school is done1 ,then home ,i run4 ,and if ,i meet the cars1 ,i get on the other track1 ,and then ,i know whatever comes ,i needn't look back4 ,my mother does not cry1 ,and my father does not scold1 ,for ,i am a little ,irish boy1 ,and ,i'm four years old4 ,every day ,i go to school ,along the railroad4 ,it was so cold it made me cry ,the day that it snowed4 ,and if my feet ache ,i do not mind the cold1 ,for ,i am a little ,irish boy1 ,and ,i'm four years old4#aja ,nov4 #bi4 ,still misty1 drizzling weather without snow or ice4 ,the puffballs1 with their open rays1 checker the path-side in the woods1 but they are not yet dry enough to make much dust4 ,damp weather in the fall seems to cause them to crack open1 i4 e4 their outer skin4 ,they look white like the shells of five-fingers on the shore4 ,the trees and shrubs look larger than usual when seen through the mist1 perhaps because1 though near1 yet being in the visible horizon and there being nothing beyond to compare them with1 we naturally magnify them1 supposing them further off4 ,it is very still yet in the woods4 ,there are no leaves to rustle1 no crickets to chirp1 and but few birds to sing4 ,the pines standing in the ocean of mist1 seen from the ,cliffs1 are trees in every stage of transition from the actual to the imaginary4 ,the near are more distinct1 the distant more faint1 till at last they are a mere shadowy cone in the distance4 ,what1 then1 are these solid pines become8 ,you can command only a circle of thirty or forty rods in diameter4 ,as you advance1 the trees gradually come out of the mist and take form before your eyes4 ,you are reminded of your dreams4 ,life looks like a dream4 ,you are prepared to see visions4 ,and now1 just before sundown1 the night wind blows up more mist through the valley1 thickening the veil which already hung over the trees1 and the gloom of night gathers early and rapidly around4 ,birds lose their way4 ,,ii ,,december1 #ahej 7,t4 #cc7 ,dec4 #a4 ,it is quite mild and pleasant to-day4 ,i saw a little green hemisphere of moss which looked as if it covered a stone1 but1 thrusting my cane into it1 ,i found it was nothing but moss1 about fifteen inches in diameter and eight or nine inches high4 ,when ,i broke it up1 it appeared as if the annual growth was marked by successive layers half an inch deep each4 ,the lower ones were quite rotten1 but the present year's quite green1 the intermediate white4 ,i counted fifteen or eighteen4 ,it was quite solid1 and ,i saw that it continued solid as it grew by branching occasionally1 just enough to fill the newly gained space1 and the tender extremities of each plant1 crowded close together1 made the firm and compact surface of the bed4 ,there was a darker line separating the growths1 where ,i thought the surface had been exposed to the winter4 ,it was quite saturated with water1 though firm and solid4 ,dec4 #b4 ,the woodpeckers' holes in the apple trees are about a fifth of an inch deep or just through the bark and half an inch apart4 ,they must be the decaying trees that are most frequented by them1 and probably their work serves to relieve and ventilate the tree and1 as well1 to destroy its enemies4 ,the barberries are shrivelled and dried4 ,i find yet cranberries hard and not touched by the frost4 ,dec4 #d4 ,wednesday4 ,fair ,haven ,pond is now open1 and there is no snow4 ,it is a beautiful1 almost ,indian-summer1 afternoon1 though the air is more pure and glassy4 ,the shrub oak fire burns briskly as seen from the ,cliffs4 ,the evergreens are greener than ever4 ,i notice the row of dwarf willows advanced into the water in ,fair ,haven1 three or four rods from the dry land1 just at the lowest water-mark4 ,you can get no disease but cold in such an atmosphere4 ,though the sun is now an hour high1 there is a peculiar bright light on the pines and on their stems4 ,the lichens on their bark reflect it4 ,in the horizon ,i see a succession of the brows of hills1 bare or covered with wood1--look over the eyebrows of the recumbent earth4 ,these are separated by long valleys filled with vapory haze4 ,if there is a little more warmth than usual at this season1 then the beautiful air which belongs to winter is perceived and appreciated4 ,dec4 #f4 ,being at ,newburyport this evening1 ,dr4 7,h4 ,c487 ,perkins showed me the circulations in the nitella1 which is slightly different from the chara1 under a microscope4 ,i saw plainly the circulation1 looking like bubbles going round in each joint1 up one side and down the other of a sort of white line1 and sometimes a dark-colored mote appeared to be carried along with them4 ,he said that the circulation could be well seen in the common celandine1 and moreover that when a shade was cast on it by a knife-blade the circulation was reversed4 ,ether would stop it1 or the death of the plant4 ,he showed me a green clamshell1--,anodon fluviatilis1--which he said was a female with young1 found in a pond near by4 ,also the head of a ,chinook or ,flathead4 ,also the humerus of a mylodon 7of ,owen7 from ,oregon4 ,some more remains have been found in ,missouri1 and a whole skeleton in ,buenos ,ayres4 ,a digging animal4 ,he could not catch his frogs asleep4 ,dec4 #h4 ,it snowed in the night of the #fth1 and the ground is now covered1--our first snow1 two inches deep4 ,a week ago ,i saw cows being driven home from pasture4 ,now they are kept at home4 ,here's an end to their grazing4 ,the farmer improves this first slight snow to accomplish some pressing jobs1--to move some particular rocks on a drag1 or the like4 ,i perceive how quickly he has seized the opportunity4 ,i see no tracks now of cows or men or boys beyond the edge of the wood4 ,suddenly they are shut up4 ,the remote pastures and hills beyond the woods are now closed to cows and cowherds1 aye1 and to cowards4 ,i am struck by this sudden solitude and remoteness which these places have acquired4 ,the dear privacy and retirement and solitude which winter makes possible6 carpeting the earth with snow1 furnishing more than woolen feet to all walkers1 cronching the snow only4 ,from ,fair ,haven ,i see the hills and fields1 aye1 and the icy woods in the corner shine1 gleam with the dear old wintry sheen4 ,those are not surely the cottages ,i have seen all summer4 ,they are some cottages which ,i have in my mind4 ,illustration3 ,first ,snow ,now ,fair ,haven ,pond is open and ground is covered with snow and ice2 a week or two ago the pond was frozen and the ground was still bare4 ,still those particular red oak leaves which ,i had noticed are quite unwilted under the cliffs1 and the apple leaves1 though standing in snow and ice and incrusted with the latter1 still ripe red1 and tender fresh green leaves4 ,it is interesting to observe the manner in which the plants bear their snowy burden4 ,the dry calyx leaves1 like an oblong cup1 of the ,trichostema dichotomum have caught the rain or melting snow1 and so this little butter-boat is filled with a frozen pure drop which stands up high above the sides of the cup1--so many pearly drops covering the whole plant1--in the wood-paths4 ,the pennyroyal there also retains its fragrance under the ice and snow4 ,i find that the indigo-weed1 whose shade still stands and holds its black seed-vessels1 is not too humble to escape enemies4 ,almost every seed-vessel1 which contains half a dozen seeds or more1 contains also a little black six-legged bug about as big as a bug sic1 which gnaws the seeds2 and sometimes ,i find a grub1 though it is now cold weather and the plant is covered with ice4 ,not only our peas and grain have their weevils1 but the fruit of the indigo-weed6 ,this evening for the first time the new moon is reflected from the frozen snow-crust4 ,dec4 #ac4 ,the river froze over last night1--skimmed over4 ,dec4 #af4 ,walden is open still4 ,the river is probably open again4 ,there are wild men living along the shores of the ,frozen ,ocean4 ,who shall say that there is not as great an interval between the civilized man and the savage as between the savage and the brute8 ,the undiscovered polar regions are the home of men4 ,i am struck with the difference between my feet and my hands4 ,my feet are much nearer to foreign or inanimate matter or nature than my hands2 they are more brute1 they are more like the earth they tread on1 they are more clod-like and lumpish1 and ,i scarcely animate them4 ,last ,sunday1 or the #adth1 ,i walked on ,loring's ,pond to three or four islands there which ,i had never visited1 not having a boat in the summer4 ,on one containing an acre or two1 ,i found a low1 branching shrub frozen into the edge of the ice1 with a fine spicy scent somewhat like sweet-fern and a handsome imbricate bud4 ,when ,i rubbed the dry-looking fruit in my hands1 it felt greasy and stained them a permanent yellow1 which ,i could not wash out2 it lasted several days1 and my fingers smelled medicinal4 ,i conclude that it is sweet-gale1 and we named the island ,myrica ,island4 ,on those unfrequented islands1 too1 ,i noticed the red osier or willow1 that common hard-berried plant with small red buds1#ajb apparently two kinds of swamp-pink buds1 some yellow1 some reddish1 a brittle1 rough yellowish bush with handsome pinkish shoots2 in one place in the meadow the greatest quantity of wild rose hips of various forms that ,i ever saw1 now slightly withered2 they were as thick as winterberries4 ,i noticed a bush covered with cocoons which were artfully concealed by two leaves wrapped round them1 one still hanging by its stem1 so that they looked like a few withered leaves left dangling4 ,the worm1 having first encased itself in another leaf for greater protection1 folded more loosely around itself one of the leaves of the plant1 taking care1 however1 to encase the leaf-stalk and the twig with a thick and strong web of silk1 so far from depending on the strength of the stalk1 which is now quite brittle4 ,the strongest fingers cannot break it1 and the cocoon can only be got off by slipping it up and off the twig4 ,there they hang themselves secure for the winter1 proof against cold and the birds1 ready to become butterflies when new leaves push forth4#ajc ,the snow everywhere was covered with snow-fleas like pepper4 ,when you hold a mass in your hand1 they skip and are gone before you know it4 ,they are so small that they go through and through the new snow4 ,sometimes when collected they look like some powder which the hunter has spilled in the path4 ,dec4 #ag4 ,flint's ,pond apparently froze completely over last night4 ,it is about two inches thick4 ,walden is only slightly skimmed over a rod from the shore4 ,i noticed1 where it had been frozen for some time near the shore of ,flint's ,pond and the ice was thicker and whiter1 there were handsome spider-shaped dark places1 where the under ice had melted1 and the water had worn it running through1--a handsome figure on the icy carpet4 ,i noticed when the snow first came that the days were very sensibly lengthened by the light being reflected from the snow4 ,any work which required light could be pursued about half an hour longer4 ,so that we may well pray that the ground may not be laid bare by a thaw in these short winter days4 ,dec4 #ai4 ,yesterday ,i tracked a partridge in the new-fallen snow1 till ,i came to where she took to flight1 and ,i could track her no further4 ,i see where the snowbirds have picked the seeds of the ,roman wormwood and other weeds and have covered the snow with the shells and husks4 ,the smilax berries are as plump as ever4 ,the catkins of the alders are as tender and fresh-looking as ripe mulberries4 ,the dried choke-cherries so abundant in the swamp are now quite sweet4 ,the witch-hazel is covered with fruit and drops over gracefully like a willow1 the yellow foundation of its flowers still remaining4 ,i find the sweet-gale 7,myrica7 by the river also4 ,the wild apples are frozen as hard as stones1 and rattle in my pockets1 but ,i find that they soon thaw when ,i get to my chamber and yield a sweet cider4#ajd ,i am astonished that the animals make no more use of them4 ,dec4 #bb4 ,the apples are now thawed4 ,this is their first thawing4 ,those which a month ago were sour1 crabbed1 and uneatable are now filled with a rich1 sweet cider which ,i am better acquainted with than with wine4 ,and others1 which have more substance1 are a sweet and luscious food1--in my opinion of more worth than the pineapples which are imported from the torrid zone4 ,those which a month ago ,i tasted and repented of it1 which the farmer willingly left on the tree1 ,i am now glad to find have the property of hanging on like the leaves of the shrub oak4 ,it is a way to keep cider sweet without boiling4 ,let the frost come to freeze them first solid as stones1 and then the sun or a warm winter day--for it takes but little heat--to thaw them1 and they will seem to have borrowed a flavor from heaven through the medium of the air in which they hang4 ,i find when ,i get home that they have thawed in my pocket and the ice is turned to cider4 ,but ,i suspect that after the second freezing and thawing they will not be so good4 ,i bend to drink the cup and save my lappets4 ,what are the half-ripe fruits of the torrid south1 to this fruit matured by the cold of the frigid north4 ,there are those crabbed apples with which ,i cheated my companion1 and kept a smooth face to tempt him to eat4 ,now we both greedily fill our pockets with them1 and grow more social with their wine4 ,was there one that hung so high and sheltered by the tangled branches that our sticks could not dislodge it8 ,it is a fruit never brought to market that ,i am aware of1--quite distinct from the apple of the markets1 as from dried apple and cider4 ,it is not every winter that produces it in perfection4#aje ,in winter ,i can explore the swamps and ponds4 ,it is a dark-aired winter day1 yet ,i see the summer plants still peering above the snow4 ,there are but few tracks in all this snow4 ,it is the ,yellow ,knife ,river or the ,saskatchewan4 ,the large leafy lichens on the white pines1 especially on the outside of the wood1 look almost a golden yellow in the light reflected from the snow1 while deeper in the wood they are ash-colored4 ,in the swamps the dry1 yellowish-colored fruit of the poison dogwood hangs like jewelry on long1 drooping stems4 ,it is pleasant to meet it1 it has so much character relatively to man4 ,here is a stump on which a squirrel has sat and stripped the pine cones of a neighboring tree4 ,their cores and scales lie all around4 ,he knew that they contained an almond#ajf before the naturalist did4 ,he has long been a close observer of ,nature2 opens her caskets4 ,i see more tracks in the swamps than elsewhere4 ,dec4 #bc4 ,here is an old-fashioned snow-storm4 ,there is not much passing on railroads4 ,the engineer says it is three feet deep above4 ,walden is frozen1 one third of it1 though ,i thought it was all frozen as ,i stood on the shore on one side only4 ,there is no track on the ,walden road4 ,a traveller might cross it in the woods and not be sure it was a road4 ,as ,i pass the farmers' houses ,i observe the cop sic of the sled propped up with a stick to prevent its freezing into the snow4 ,the needles of the pines are drooping like cockerels' feathers after a rain1 and frozen together by the sleety snow4 ,the pitch pines now bear their snowy fruit4 ,i can discern a faint foot or sled path sooner when the ground is covered with snow than when it is bare4 ,the depression caused by the feet or the wheels is more obvious2 perhaps the light and shade betray it1 but ,i think it is mainly because the grass and weeds rise above it on each side and leave it blank1 and a blank space of snow contrasts more strongly with the woods or grass than bare or beaten ground4 ,even the surface of the snow is wont to be in waves like billows of the ocean4 ,dec4 #bd4 ,in walking across the ,great ,meadows to-day on the snow-crust1 ,i noticed that the fine1 dry snow which was blown over the surface of the frozen field1 when ,i looked westward over it or toward the sun1 looked precisely like steam curling up from its surface1 as sometimes from a wet roof when the sun comes out after a rain4 ,the snow catches only in the hollows and against the reeds and grass1 and never rests there1 but when it has formed a broad and shallow drift or a long and narrow one like a winrow on the ice1 it blows away again from one extremity1 and leaves often a thin1 tongue-like projection at one end1 some inches above the firm crust4 ,i observe that there are many dead pine-needles sprinkled over the snow1 which had not fallen before4 ,saw a shrike pecking to pieces a small bird1 apparently a snowbird4 ,at length he took him up in his bill1 almost half as big as himself1 and flew slowly off with his prey dangling from his beak4 ,i find that ,i had not associated such actions with my idea of birds4 ,it was not birdlike4 ,it is never so cold but it melts somewhere4 ,our mason well remarked that he had sometimes known it to be melting and freezing at the same time on a particular side of a house2 while it was melting on the roof the icicles were forming under the eaves4 ,it is always melting and freezing at the same time when icicles are formed4 ,our thoughts are with those among the dead into whose sphere we are rising1 or who are now rising into our own4 ,others we inevitably forget1 though they be brothers and sisters4 ,thus the departed may be nearer to us than when they were present4 ,at death our friends and relations either draw nearer to us and are found out1 or depart further from us and are forgotten4 ,friends are as often brought nearer together as separated by death4 ,dec4 #bf4 ,thursday4 ,the pine woods seen from the hilltops1 now that the ground is covered with snow1 are not green but a dark brown1 greenish-brown perhaps4 ,you see dark patches of wood4 ,there are still half a dozen fresh ripe red and glossy oak leaves left on the bush under the ,cliffs4 ,walden not yet more than half frozen over4 ,dec4 #cj4 ,in ,r4 ,gordon ,cumming's 8,hunter's ,life in ,south ,africa10#ajg ,i find an account of the honey-bird1 which will lead a person to a wild bees' nest and1 having got its share of the spoil1 will sometimes lead to a second and third4 7,vol4 ,i1 page #di47 ,he saw dry sheep's dung burning1 and after eighteen months it was burning still4 ,one heap was said to have burned seven years4 ,remarkable for burning slowly4 7,page #fb47 ,he came across a ,boer who manufactured ashes by burning a particular bush and sold it to the richer ,boers4 7,page #ga47 ,he says that the oryx or gemsbok1 a kind of antelope1 never tastes water4 ,lives on the deserts4 7,page #id47 ,the ,bushmen conceal water in ostrich eggs at regular intervals across the desert1 and so perform long journeys over them safely4 7,page #aja47 ,the hatching of ostrich eggs not left to heat of sun4 7,page #aje47 ,the natives empty them by a small aperture at one end1 fill with water1 and cork up the hole with grass4 7,page #ajf47 ,the ,hottentots devoured the marrow of a koodoo raw as a matter of course4#ajh ,the ,bechuanas use 8the assagai10 8a sort of light spear or javelin0 with a shaft six feet long1 which they will send through a man's body at a hundred yards4 7,page #bja47 ,the ,bakatlas smelt and work in iron quite well2 make spears1 battle-axes1 knives1 needles1 etc41 etc4 7,page #bjg47 ,the skin of the eland just killed1 like that of most other antelopes1 emits the most delicious perfume of trees and grass4 7,page #bah47aji ,when waiting by night for elephants to approach a fountain1 he 8heard a low rumbling noise 4441 caused 7as the ,bechuanas affirmed7 by the bowels of the elephants which were approaching the fountain40 7,page #bfa47 8,a child can put a hundred of them elephants#aaj to flight by passing at a quarter of a mile to windward40 7,page #bfc47 ,it is incredible how many 8goodly0 trees an elephant will destroy1 sometimes wantonly4 7#bfe47 ,an elephant's friend will protect its wounded companion at the risk of its own life4 7#bfh47 ,the rhinoceros-birds stick their bills in the ear of the rhinoceros and wake him up when the hunter is approaching4 ,they live on ticks and other parasitic insects on his body4 ,he perfectly understands their warning4 ,he has chased a rhinoceros many miles on horseback and fired many shots before he fell1 and all the while the birds remained by him1 perched on his back and sides1 and as each bullet struck him they ascended about six feet into the air1 uttering a cry of alarm1 and then resumed their position4 ,sometimes they were swept off his back by branches of trees4 ,when the rhinoceros was shot at midnight1 they have remained by his body thinking him asleep1 and on the hunter's approaching in the morning have tried to wake him up4 7,page #bic47 ,the ,bechuanas make a pipe in a few moments by kneading moistened earth with their knuckles on a twig1 until a hole is established1 then one end of the aperture is enlarged with their fingers for a bowl4 7,page #cjf47 ,dec4 #ca4 ,i observe that in the cut by ,walden ,pond the sand and stones fall from the overhanging bank and rest on the snow below2 and thus1 perchance1 the stratum deposited by the side of the road in the winter can permanently be distinguished from the summer one by some faint seam1 to be referred to the peculiar conditions under which it was deposited4 ,the pond has been frozen over since ,i was there last4 ,certain meadows1 as ,heywood's1 contain warmer water than others and are slow to freeze4 ,i do not remember to have crossed this with impunity in all places4 ,the brook that issues from it is still open completely1 though the thermometer was down to eight below zero this morning4 ,the blue jays evidently notify each other of the presence of an intruder1 and will sometimes make a great chattering about it1 and so communicate the alarm to other birds and to beasts4 ,,iii ,,january-,,april1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 ,jan4 #b4 ,saw at ,clinton last night a room at the gingham-mills which covers one and seven-eighths acres and contains #egh looms1 not to speak of spindles1 both throttle and mule4 ,the rooms all together cover three acres4 ,they were using between three and four hundred horse-power1 and kept an engine of two hundred horse-power1 with a wheel twenty-three feet in diameter and a band ready to supply deficiencies1 which have not often occurred4 ,some portion of the machinery--,i think it was where the cotton was broken up1 lightened up1 and mixed before being matted together--revolved eighteen hundred times in a minute4 ,i first saw the pattern room where patterns are made by a hand loom4 ,there were two styles of warps ready for the woof or filling4 ,the operator must count the threads of the woof1 which in the mill is done by the machinery4 ,it was the ancient art of weaving1 the shuttle flying back and forth1 putting in the filling4 ,as long as the warp is the same1 it is but one 8style10 so called4 ,the cotton should possess a long staple and be clean and free from seed4 ,the ,sea ,island cotton has a long staple and is valuable for thread4 ,many bales are thoroughly mixed to make the goods of one quality4 ,the cotton is then torn to pieces and thoroughly lightened up by cylinders armed with hooks and by fans2 then spread1 a certain weight on a square yard1 and matted together1 and torn up and matted together again two or three times over2 then the matted cotton fed to a cylindrical card1 a very thin web of it1 which is gathered into a copper trough1 making six 7the six-card machines7 flat1 rope-like bands1 which are united into one at the railway head and drawn4 ,and this operation of uniting and drawing or stretching goes on from one machine to another until the thread is spun1 which is then dyed 7calico is printed after being woven71--having been wound off on to reels and so made into skeins1--dyed and dried by steam2 then1 by machinery1 wound on to spools for the warp and the woof4 ,from a great many spools the warp is drawn off over cylinders and different-colored threads properly mixed and arranged4 ,then the ends of the warp are drawn through the harness of the loom by hand4 ,the operator knows the succession of red1 blue1 green1 etc41 threads1 having the numbers given her1 and draws them through the harness accordingly1 keeping count4 ,then the woof is put in1 or it is woven66 ,then the inequalities or nubs are picked off by girls4 ,if they discover any imperfection1 they tag it1 and if necessary the wages of the weaver are reduced4 ,now1 ,i think1 it is passed over a red-hot iron cylinder1 and the fuzz singed off1 then washed with wheels with cold water2 then the water forced out by centrifugal force within horizontal wheels4 ,then it is starched1 the ends stitched together by machinery2 then stretched smooth1 dried1 and ironed by machinery2 then measured1 folded1 and packed4 ,this the agent1 ,forbes1 says is the best gingham-mill in this country4 ,the goods are better than the imported4 ,the ,english have even stolen their name ,lancaster ,mills1 calling them 8,lancasterian40 ,the machinery is some of it peculiar1 part of the throttle spindles 787 for instance4 ,the coach-lace-mill1 only place in this country where it is made by machinery2 made of thread of different materials1 as cotton1 worsted1 linen1 as well as colors1 the raised figure produced by needles inserted woof fashion4 ,well worth examining further4 ,also pantaloon stuffs made in same mill and dyed after being woven1 the woolen not taking the same dye with the cotton2 hence a slight parti-colored appearance4 ,these goods are sheared1 i4 e4 a part of the nap taken off1 making them smoother4 ,pressed between pasteboards4 ,the ,brussels carpets made at the carpet-factory said to be the best in the world4 ,made like coach lace1 only wider4 ,erastus 787 ,bigelow inventor of what is new in the above machinery2 and1 with his brother and another1 owner of the carpet-factory4 ,i am struck by the fact that no work has been shirked when a piece of cloth is produced4 ,every thread has been counted in the finest web2 it has not been matted together4 ,the operator has succeeded only by patience1 perseverance1 and fidelity4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the direction in which a railroad runs1 though intersecting another at right angles1 may cause that one will be blocked up with snow and the other be comparatively open even for great distances1 depending on the direction of prevailing winds and valleys4 ,there are the ,fitchburg and ,nashua ,worcester4 ,jan4 #d4 ,the longest silence is the most pertinent question most pertinently put4 ,emphatically silent4 ,the most important question1 whose answers concern us more than any1 are never put in any other way4 ,it is difficult for two strangers1 mutually well disposed1 so truly to bear themselves toward each other that a feeling of falseness and hollowness shall not soon spring up between them4 ,the least anxiety to behave truly vitiates the relation4 ,i think of those to whom ,i am at the moment truly related1 with a joy never expressed and never to be expressed1 before ,i fall asleep at night1 though ,i am hardly on speaking terms with them these years4 ,when ,i think of it1 ,i am truly related to them4 ,jan4 #e4 ,the catkins of the alders are now frozen stiff66 ,almost all that my neighbors call good ,i believe in my soul to be bad4 ,if ,i repent of anything1 it is of my good behavior4 ,what demon possessed me that ,i behaved so well8 ,you may say the wisest thing you can1 old man1--you who have lived seventy years1 not without honor of a kind1--,i hear an irresistible voice1 the voice of my destiny1 which invites me away from all that4#aaa ,jan4 #g4 ,the snow is sixteen inches deep at least1 but it is a mild and genial afternoon1 as if it were the beginning of a ,january thaw4 ,take away the snow and it would not be winter but like many days in the fall4 ,the birds acknowledge the difference in the air2 the jays are more noisy1 and the chickadees are oftener heard4 ,many herbs are not crushed by the snow4 ,i do not remember to have seen fleas except when the weather was mild and the snow damp4 ,i must live above all in the present4 99 99 99 99 99 ,science does not embody all that men know1 only what is for men of science4 ,the woodman tells me how he caught trout in a box trap1 how he made his trough for maple sap of pine logs1 and the spouts of sumach or white ash1 which have a large pith4 ,he can relate his facts to human life4 ,the knowledge of an unlearned man is living and luxuriant like a forest1 but covered with mosses and lichens and for the most part inaccessible and going to waste2 the knowledge of the man of science is like timber collected in yards for public works1 which still supports a green sprout here and there1 but even this is liable to dry rot4 ,i felt my spirits rise when ,i had got off the road into the open fields1 and the sky had a new appearance4 ,i stepped along more buoyantly4 ,there was a warm sunset over the wooded valleys1 a yellowish tinge on the pines4 ,reddish dun-colored clouds like dusky flames stood over it4 ,and then streaks of blue sky were seen here and there4 ,the life1 the joy1 that is in blue sky after a storm6 ,there is no account of the blue sky in history4 ,before ,i walked in the ruts of travel2 now ,i adventured4 ,this evening a fog comes up from the south4 ,if ,i have any conversation with a scamp in my walk1 my afternoon is wont to be spoiled4 ,the squirrels and apparently the rabbits have got all the frozen apples in the hollow behind ,miles's4 ,the rabbits appear to have devoured what the squirrels dropped and left4 ,i see the tracks of both leading from the woods on all sides to the apple trees4 ,jan4 #h4 ,the smilax 7green-briar7 berries still hang on like small grapes4 ,the thorn of this vine is very perfect1 like a straight dagger4 ,the light of the setting sun falling on the snow-banks to-day made them glow almost yellow4 ,the hills seen from ,fair ,haven ,pond make a wholly new landscape2 covered with snow and yellowish green or brown pines and shrub oaks1 they look higher and more massive4 ,their white mantle relates them to the clouds in the horizon and to the sky4 ,perchance what is light-colored looks loftier than what is dark4 ,you might say of a very old and withered man or woman that they hung on like a shrub oak leaf1 almost to a second spring4 ,there was still a little life in the heel of the leaf-stalk4 ,jan4 #aj4 ,the snow shows how much of the mountains in the horizon are covered with forest4 ,i can also see plainer as ,i stand on a hill what proportion of the township is in forest4 ,got some excellent frozen-thawed apples off of ,annursnack1 soft and luscious as a custard and free from worms and rot4 ,saw a partridge budding1 but they did not appear to have pecked the apples4 ,there was a remarkable sunset2 a mother-of-pearl sky seen over the ,price farm2 some small clouds1 as well as the edges of large ones1 most brilliantly painted with mother-of-pearl tints through and through4 ,i never saw the like before4 ,who can foretell the sunset1--what it will be8 ,the near and bare hills covered with snow look like mountains1 but the mountains in the horizon do not look higher than hills4 ,i frequently see a hole in the snow where a partridge has squatted1 the mark or form of her tail very distinct4 ,the chivalric and heroic spirit1 which once belonged to the chevalier or rider only1 seems now to reside in the walker4 ,to represent the chivalric spirit we have no longer a knight1 but a walker1 errant4#aab ,i speak not of pedestrianism1 or of walking a thousand miles in a thousand successive hours4 ,the ,adam who daily takes a turn in his garden4 ,methinks ,i would not accept of the gift of life1 if ,i were required to spend as large a portion of it sitting foot up or with my legs crossed1 as the shoemakers and tailors do4 ,as well be tied neck and heels together and cast into the sea4 ,making acquaintance with my extremities4 ,i have met with but one or two persons in the course of my life who understood the art of taking walks daily1--not to exercise the legs or body merely1 nor barely to recruit the spirits1 but positively to exercise both body and spirit1 and to succeed to the highest and worthiest ends by the abandonment of all specific ends1--who had a genius1 so to speak1 for sauntering4 ,and this word 8saunter10 by the way1 is happily derived 8from idle people who roved about the country in the ,middle ,ages#aac and asked charity under pretence of going la ,sainte ,terre10 to the ,holy ,land1 till1 perchance1 the children exclaimed1 8,there goes a ,sainte-,terrer10 a ,holy-,lander4 ,they who never go to the ,holy ,land in their walks1 as they pretend1 are indeed mere idlers and vagabonds4#aad 99 99 99 99 99 ,four pages missing4 ,perhaps ,i am more than usually jealous of my freedom4 ,i feel that my connections with and obligations to society are at present very slight and transient4 ,those slight labors which afford me a livelihood1 and by which ,i am serviceable to my contemporaries1 are as yet a pleasure to me1 and ,i am not often reminded that they are a necessity4 ,so far ,i am successful1 and only he is successful in his business who makes that pursuit which affords him the highest pleasure sustain him4 ,but ,i foresee that if my wants should be much increased the labor required to supply them would become a drudgery4 ,if ,i should sell both my forenoons and afternoons to society1 neglecting my peculiar calling1 there would be nothing left worth living for4 ,i trust that ,i shall never thus sell my birthright for a mess of pottage4#aae ,f4 ,andrew ,michaux says that 8the species of large trees are much more numerous in ,north ,america than in ,europe3 in the ,united ,states there are more than one hundred and forty species that exceed thirty feet in height2 in ,france there are but thirty that attain this size1 of which eighteen enter into the composition of the forests1 and seven only are employed in building40#aaf ,the perfect resemblance of the chestnut1 beech1 and hornbeam in ,europe and the ,united ,states rendered a separate figure unnecessary4 ,he says the white oak 8is the only oak on which a few of the dried leaves persist till the circulation is renewed in the spring40 ,had often heard his father say that 8the fruit of the common ,european walnut1 in its natural state1 is harder than that of the ,american species just mentioned the pacane-nut hickory#aag and inferior to it in size and quality40 99 99 99 99 99 ,the arts teach us a thousand lessons4 ,not a yard of cloth can be woven without the most thorough fidelity in the weaver4 ,the ship must be made absolutely tight before it is launched4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is an important difference between two characters that the one is satisfied with a happy but level success but the other as constantly elevates his aim4 ,though my life is low1 if my spirit looks upward habitually at an elevated angle1 it is as it were redeemed4 ,when the desire to be better than we are is really sincere we are instantly elevated1 and so far better already4 ,i lose my friends1 of course1 as much by my own ill treatment and ill valuing of them1 prophaning of them1 cheapening of them1 as by their cheapening of themselves1 till at last1 when ,i am prepared to do them justice1 ,i am permitted to deal only with the memories of themselves1 their ideals still surviving in me1 no longer with their actual selves4 ,we exclude ourselves1 as the child said of the stream in which he bathed head or foot4 7,vide ,confucius47 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is something to know when you are addressed by ,divinity and not by a common traveller4 ,i went down cellar just now to get an armful of wood and1 passing the brick piers with my wood and candle1 ,i heard1 methought1 a commonplace suggestion1 but when1 as it were by accident1 ,i reverently attended to the hint1 ,i found that it was the voice of a god who had followed me down cellar to speak to me4 ,how many communications may we not lose through inattention6 ,i would fain keep a journal which should contain those thoughts and impressions which ,i am most liable to forget that ,i have had2 which would have in one sense the greatest remoteness1 in another1 the greatest nearness to me4 ',t is healthy to be sick sometimes4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i do not know but the reason why ,i love some ,latin verses more than whole ,english poems is simply in the elegant terseness and conciseness of the language1 an advantage which the individual appears to have shared with his nation4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when we can no longer ramble in the fields of nature1 we ramble in the fields of thought and literature4 ,the old become readers4 ,our heads retain their strength when our legs have become weak4 ,english literature from the days of the minstrels to the ,lake ,poets1 ,chaucer and ,spenser and ,shakspeare and ,milton included1 breathes no quite fresh and1 in this sense1 wild strain4 ,it is an essentially tame and civilized literature1 reflecting ,greece and ,rome4 ,her wilderness is a greenwood1 her wild man a ,robin ,hood4 ,there is plenty of genial love of nature in her poets1 but not so much of nature herself4 ,her chronicles inform us when her wild animals1 but not when the wild man in her1 became extinct4#aah ,there was need of ,america4 ,i cannot think of any poetry which adequately expresses this yearning for the ,wild1 the wilde4#aai 99 99 99 99 99 ,ovid says3-- ,nilus in extremum fugit perterritus orbem1 ,occuluitque caput1 quod adhuc latet4 7,nilus1 terrified1 fled to the extremity of the globe1 ,and hid his head1 which is still concealed47 ,and we moderns must repeat1 8,quod adhuc latet40 ,phaton's epitaph3-- ,hic situs est ,phaton1 currs auriga paterni2 ,quem si non tenuit1 magnis tamen excidit ausis4 ,his sister ,lampetie subit radice retenta est4 ,all the sisters were changed to trees while they were in vain beseeching their mother not to break their branches4 ,cortex in verba novissima venit4 ,his brother ,cycnus1 lamenting the death of ,phaton killed by ,jove's lightning1 and the metamorphosis of his sisters1 was changed into a swan1-- nec se coeloque1 ,jovique ,credit1 ut injust missi memor ignis ab illo4 7,nor trusts himself to the heavens ,nor to ,jove1 as if remembering the fire unjustly sent by him71 i4 e4 against ,phaton4 7,reason why the swan does not fly47 444 precibusque minas regaliter addit4 7,jove royally adds threats to prayers47 ,callisto miles erat ,phoebes1 i4 e4 a huntress4 444 7neque enim coelestia tingi ,ora decet lachrymis74 7,for it is not becoming that the faces of the celestials be tinged with tears1--keep a stiff upper lip47 ,how much more fertile a nature has ,grecian mythology its root in than ,english literature6 ,the nature which inspired mythology still flourishes4 ,mythology is the crop which the ,old ,world bore before its soil was exhausted4 ,the ,west is preparing to add its fables to those of the ,east4#abj ,a more fertile nature than the ,mississippi ,valley4 ,none of your four-hour nights for me4 ,the wise man will take a fool's allowance4 ,the corn would not come to much if the nights were but four hours long4 ,the soil in which those fables grew is deep and inexhaustible4 99 99 99 99 99 ,lead cast by the ,balearian sling3-- ,volat illud1 et incandescit eundo2 ,et1 quos non habuit1 sub nubibus invenit ignes4 7,that flies and grows hot with going1 ,and fires which it had not finds amid the clouds47 99 99 99 99 99 ,i went some months ago to see a panorama of the ,rhine4 ,it was like a dream of the ,middle ,ages4 ,i floated down its historic stream in something more than imagination1 under bridges built by the ,romans and repaired by later heroes1 past cities and castles whose very names were music to me1--made my ears tingle1--and each of which was the subject of a legend4 ,there seemed to come up from its waters and its vine-clad hills and valleys a hushed music as of crusaders departing for the ,holy ,land4 ,there were ,ehrenbreitstein and ,rolandseck and ,coblentz1 which ,i knew only in history4 ,i floated along through the moonlight of history under the spell of enchantment4 ,it was as if ,i remembered a glorious dream1--as if ,i had been transported to a heroic age and breathed an atmosphere of chivalry4 ,those times appeared far more poetic and heroic than these4 ,soon after ,i went to see the panorama of the ,mississippi1 and as ,i fitly worked my way upward in the light of to-day1 and saw the steamboats wooding up1 and looked up the ,ohio and the ,missouri1 and saw its unpeopled cliffs1 and counted the rising cities1#aba and saw the ,indians removing west across the stream1 and heard the legends of ,dubuque and of ,wenona's ,cliff1--still thinking more of the future than of the past or present1--,i saw that this was a ,rhine stream of a different kind4#abb 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,old ,world1 with its vast deserts and its arid and elevated steppes and table-lands1 contrasted with the ,new ,world with its humid and fertile valleys and savannas and prairies and its boundless primitive forests1 is like the exhausted ,indian corn lands contrasted with the peat meadows4 ,america requires some of the sand of the ,old ,world to be carted on to her rich but as yet unassimilated meadows4 99 99 99 99 99 ,guyot says1 8,the ,baltic ,sea has a depth of only #abj feet between the coasts of ,germany and those of ,sweden0 7page #hb74 8,the ,adriatic1 between ,venice and ,trieste1 has a depth of only #acj feet40 8,between ,france and ,england1 the greatest depth does not exceed #cjj feet40 ,the most extensive forest1 8the most gigantic wilderness10 on the earth is in the basin of the ,amazon1 and extends almost unbroken more than fifteen hundred miles4 ,south ,america the kingdom of palms2 nowhere a greater number of species4 8,this is a sign of the preponderating development of leaves over every other part of the vegetable growth2 of that expansion of foliage1 of that leafiness1 peculiar to warm and moist climates4 ,america has no plants with slender1 shrunken leaves1 like those of ,africa and ,new ,holland4 ,the ,ericas1 or heather1 so common1 so varied1 so characteristic of the flora of the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 is a form unknown to the ,new ,world4 ,there is nothing resembling those ,metrosideri of ,africa1 those dry ,myrtles 7,eucalyptus7 and willow-leaved acacias1 whose flowers shine with the liveliest colors1 but their narrow foliage1 turned edgewise to the vertical sun1 casts no shadow40#abc 99 99 99 99 99 ,the white man derives his nourishment from the earth1--from the roots and grains1 the potato and wheat and corn and rice and sugar1 which often grow in fertile and pestilential river bottoms fatal to the life of the cultivator4 ,the ,indian has but a slender hold on the earth4 ,he derives his nourishment in great part but indirectly from her1 through the animals he hunts4#abd 99 99 99 99 99 8,compared with the ,old ,world1 the ,new ,world is the humid side of our planet1 the oceanic1 vegetative world1 the passive element awaiting the excitement of a livelier impulse from without40#abe 99 99 99 99 99 8,for the ,american1 this task is to work the virgin soil40 8,agriculture here already assumes proportions unknown everywhere else40#abf ,feb4 #i4 ,the last half of ,january was warm and thawy4 ,the swift streams were open1 and the muskrats were seen swimming and diving and bringing up clams1 leaving their shells on the ice4 ,we had now forgotten summer and autumn1 but had already begun to anticipate spring4 ,fishermen improved the warmer weather to fish for pickerel through the ice4 ,before it was only the autumn landscape with a thin layer of snow upon it2 we saw the withered flowers through it2 but now we do not think of autumn when we look on this snow4 ,that earth is effectually buried4 ,it is midwinter4 ,within a few days the cold has set in stronger than ever1 though the days are much longer now4 ,now ,i travel across the fields on the crust which has frozen since the ,january thaw1 and ,i can cross the river in most places4 ,it is easier to get about the country than at any other season1--easier than in summer1 because the rivers and meadows are frozen and there is no high grass or other crops to be avoided2 easier than in ,december before the crust was frozen4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sir ,john ,mandeville says1 8,in fro what partie of the earth that men dwell1 outher aboven or benethen1 it seemeth always to hem that dwellen there1 that they gon more right than any other folk40 ,again1 8,and yee shulle undirstonde1 that of all theise contrees1 and of all theise yles1 and of all the dyverse folk1 that ,i have spoken of before1 and of dyverse laws and of dyverse beleeves that thei have1 yit is there non of hem alle1 but that thei have sum resoun within hem and understondinge1 but gif it be the fewere40 ,i have heard that there is a ,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful ,knowledge4 ,it is said that knowledge is power and the like4 ,methinks there is equal need of a ,society for the ,diffusion of ,useful ,ignorance1 for what is most of our boasted so-called knowledge but a conceit that we know something1 which robs us of the advantages of our actual ignorance4#abg 99 99 99 99 99 ,for a man's ignorance sometimes is not only useful but beautiful1 while his knowledge is oftentimes worse than useless1 beside being ugly4#abh ,in reference to important things1 whose knowledge amounts to more than a consciousness of his ignorance8 ,yet what more refreshing and inspiring knowledge than this8 ,how often are we wise as serpents without being harmless as doves6 ,donne says1 8,who are a little wise the best fools be40 ,cudworth says1 8,we have all of us by nature 7as both ,plato and ,aristotle call it71 a certain divination1 presage and parturient vaticination in our minds1 of some higher good and perfection than either power or knowledge40 ,aristotle himself declares1 that there is 1 which is 1--7something better than reason and knowledge1 which is the principle and original of all74 ,lavater says1 8,who finds the clearest not clear1 thinks the darkest not obscure40 99 99 99 99 99 ,my desire for knowledge is intermittent2 but my desire to commune with the spirit of the universe1 to be intoxicated even with the fumes1 call it1 of that divine nectar1 to bear my head through atmospheres and over heights unknown to my feet1 is perennial and constant4#abi ,illustration3 ,midwinter ,it is remarkable how few events or crises there are in our minds' histories1 how little exercised we have been in our minds1 how few experiences we have had4#acj ,four pages missing4 ,the story of ,romulus and ,remus being suckled by a wolf is not a mere fable2 the founders of every state which has risen to eminence have drawn their nourishment and vigor from a similar source4 ,it is because the children of the empire were not suckled by wolves that they were conquered and displaced by the children of the northern forests who were4#aca ,america is the she wolf to-day1 and the children of exhausted ,europe exposed on her uninhabited and savage shores are the ,romulus and ,remus who1 having derived new life and vigor from her breast1 have founded a new ,rome in the ,west4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is remarkable how few passages1 comparatively speaking1 there are in the best literature of the day which betray any intimacy with ,nature4 ,it is apparent enough to me that only one or two of my townsmen or acquaintances--not more than one in many thousand men1 indeed--feel or at least obey any strong attraction drawing them toward the forest or to ,nature1 but all1 almost without exception1 gravitate exclusively toward men1 or society4#acb ,the young men of ,concord and in other towns do not walk in the woods1 but congregate in shops and offices4 ,they suck one another4 ,their strongest attraction is toward the mill-dam4 ,a thousand assemble about the fountain in the public square1--the town pump1--be it full or dry1 clear or turbid1 every morning1 but not one in a thousand is in the meanwhile drinking at that fountain's head4 ,it is hard for the young1 aye1 and the old1 man in the outskirts to keep away from the mill-dam a whole day2 but he will find some excuse1 as an ounce of cloves that might be wanted1 or a ,new ,england ,farmer still in the office1 to tackle up the horse1 or even go afoot1 but he will go at some rate4 ,this is not bad comparatively2 this is because he cannot do better4 ,in spite of his hoeing and chopping1 he is unexpressed and undeveloped4 ,i do not know where to find in any literature1 whether ancient or modern1 any adequate account of that ,nature with which ,i am acquainted4 ,mythology comes nearest to it of any4#acc ,the actual life of men is not without a dramatic interest at least to the thinker4 ,it is not always and everywhere prosaic4 ,seventy thousand pilgrims proceed annually to ,mecca from the various nations of ,islam4 ,but this is not so significant as the far simpler and more unpretending pilgrimage to the shrines of some obscure individual1 which yet makes no bustle in the world4 ,i believe that ,adam in paradise was not so favorably situated on the whole as is the backwoodsman in ,america4#acd ,you all know how miserably the former turned out1--or was turned out1--but there is some consolation at least in the fact that it yet remains to be seen how the western ,adam in the wilderness will turn out4 ,in ,adam's fall ,we sinned all4 ,in the new ,adam's rise ,we shall all reach the skies4 ,an infusion of hemlock in our tea1 if we must drink tea1--not the poison hemlock1 but the hemlock spruce1 ,i mean1#ace--or perchance the ,arbor-,vit1 the tree of life1--is what we want4 ,feb4 #ab4 ,wednesday4 ,a beautiful day1 with but little snow or ice on the ground4 ,though the air is sharp1 as the earth is half bare the hens have strayed to some distance from the barns4 ,the hens1 standing around their lord and pluming themselves and still fretting a little1 strive to fetch the year about4 ,a thaw has nearly washed away the snow and raised the river and the brooks and flooded the meadows1 covering the old ice1 which is still fast to the bottom4 ,i find that it is an excellent walk for variety and novelty and wildness1 to keep round the edge of the meadow1--the ice not being strong enough to bear and transparent as water1--on the bare ground or snow1 just between the highest water mark and the present water line1--a narrow1 meandering walk1 rich in unexpected views and objects4 ,the line of rubbish which marks the higher tides--withered flags and reeds and twigs and cranberries--is to my eyes a very agreeable and significant line1 which ,nature traces along the edge of the meadows4 ,it is a strongly marked1 enduring natural line1 which in summer reminds me that the water has once stood over where ,i walk4 ,sometimes the grooved trees tell the same tale4 ,the wrecks of the meadow1 which fill a thousand coves1 and tell a thousand tales to those who can read them4 ,our prairial1 mediterranean shore4 ,the gentle rise of water around the trees in the meadow1 where oaks and maples stand far out in the sea1 and young elms sometimes are seen standing close around some rock which lifts its head above the water1 as if protecting it1 preventing it from being washed away1 though in truth they owe their origin and preservation to it4 ,it first invited and detained their seed1 and now preserves the soil in which they grow4 ,a pleasant reminiscence of the rise of waters1 to go up one side of the river and down the other1 following this way1 which meanders so much more than the river itself4 ,if you cannot go on the ice1 you are then gently compelled to take this course1 which is on the whole more beautiful1--to follow the sinuosities of the meadow4 ,between the highest water mark and the present water line is a space generally from a few feet to a few rods in width4 ,when the water comes over the road1 then my spirits rise1--when the fences are carried away4 ,a prairial walk4 ,saw a caterpillar crawling about on the snow4 ,the earth is so bare that it makes an impression on me as if it were catching cold4 ,i saw to-day something new to me as ,i walked along the edge of the meadow4 ,every half-mile or so along the channel of the river ,i saw at a distance where apparently the ice had been broken up while freezing by the pressure of other ice1--thin cakes of ice forced up on their edges and reflecting the sun like so many mirrors1 whole fleets of shining sails1 giving a very lively appearance to the river1--where for a dozen rods the flakes of ice stood on their edges1 like a fleet beating up-stream against the sun1 a fleet of ice-boats4 ,it is remarkable that the cracks in the ice on the meadows sometimes may be traced a dozen rods from the water through the snow in the neighboring fields4 ,it is only necessary that man should start a fence that ,nature should carry it on and complete it4 ,the farmer cannot plow quite up to the rails or wall which he himself has placed1 and hence it often becomes a hedgerow and sometimes a coppice4 ,i found to-day apples still green under the snow1 and others frozen and thawed1 sweeter far than when sound1--a sugary sweetness4#acf ,there is something more than association at the bottom of the excitement which the roar of a cataract produces4 ,it is allied to the circulation in our veins4 ,we have a waterfall which corresponds even to ,niagara somewhere within us4#acg ,it is astonishing what a rush and tumult a slight inclination will produce in a swollen brook4 ,how it proclaims its glee1 its boisterousness1 rushing headlong in its prodigal course as if it would exhaust itself in half an hour6 ,how it spends itself6 ,i would say to the orator and poet1 ,flow freely and lavishly as a brook that is full1--without stint4 ,perchance ,i have stumbled upon the origin of the word 8lavish40 ,it does not hesitate to tumble down the steepest precipice and roar or tinkle as it goes1 for fear it will exhaust its fountain4 ,the impetuosity of descending water even by the slightest inclination6 ,it seems to flow with ever increasing rapidity4 ,it is difficult to believe what philosophers assert1 that it is merely a difference in the form of the elementary particles--as whether they are square or globular--which makes the difference between the steadfast1 everlasting1 and reposing hillside and the impetuous torrent which tumbles down it4 ,it is refreshing to walk over sprout-lands1 where oak and chestnut sprouts are mounting swiftly up again into the sky1 and already perchance their sere leaves begin to rustle in the breeze and reflect the light on the hillsides4 8,heroic underwoods that take the air ,with freedom1 nor respect their parents' death40#ach ,i trust that the walkers of the present day are conscious of the blessings which they enjoy in the comparative freedom with which they can ramble over the country and enjoy the landscape1 anticipating with compassion that future day when possibly it will be partitioned off into so-called pleasure-grounds1 where only a few may enjoy the narrow and exclusive pleasure which is compatible with ownership1--when walking over the surface of ,god's earth shall be construed to mean trespassing on some gentleman's grounds1 when fences shall be multiplied and man traps and other engines invented to confine men to the public road4 ,i am thankful that we have yet so much room in ,america4#aci ,feb4 #ac4 ,skated to ,sudbury4 ,a beautiful1 summer-like day4 ,the meadows were frozen just enough to bear4 ,examined now the fleets of ice-flakes close at hand4 ,they are a very singular and interesting phenomenon1 which ,i do not remember to have seen4 ,i should say that when the water was frozen about as thick as pasteboard1 a violent gust had here and there broken it up1 and while the wind and waves held it up on its edge1 the increasing cold froze it in firmly4 ,so it seemed1 for the flakes were for the most part turned one way2 i4 e4 standing on one side1 you saw only their edges1 on another--the northeast or southwest--their sides4 ,they were for the most part of a triangular form1 like a shouldersic-of-mutton sail1 slightly scalloped1 like shells4 ,they looked like a fleet of a thousand mackerel-fishers under a press of sail careering before a smacking breeze4 ,sometimes the sun and wind had reduced them to the thinness of writing-paper1 and they fluttered and rustled and tinkled merrily4 ,i skated through them and strewed their wrecks around4 ,they appear to have been elevated expressly to reflect the sun like mirrors1 to adorn the river and attract the eye of the skater4 ,who will say that their principal end is not answered when they excite the admiration of the skater8 ,every half-mile or mile1 as you skate up the river1 you see these crystal fleets4 ,nature is a great imitator and loves to repeat herself4 ,she wastes her wonders on the town4 ,it impresses me as one superiority in her art1 if art it may be called1 that she does not require that man appreciate her1 takes no steps to attract his attention4 ,illustration ,the trouble is in getting on and off the ice2 when you are once on you can go well enough4 ,it melts round the edges4 ,again ,i saw to-day1 half a mile off in ,sudbury1 a sandy spot on the top of a hill1 where ,i prophesied that ,i should find traces of the ,indians4 ,when within a dozen rods1 ,i distinguished the foundation of a lodge1 and merely passing over it1 ,i saw many fragments of the arrowhead stone4 ,i have frequently distinguished these localities half a mile off1 gone forward1 and picked up arrowheads4 ,saw in a warm1 muddy brook in ,sudbury1 quite open and exposed1 the skunk-cabbage spathes above water4 ,the tops of the spathes were frost-bitten1 but the fruit sic sound4 ,there was one partly expanded4 ,the first flower of the season2 for it is a flower4 ,i doubt if there is a month without its flower4 ,examined by the botany all its parts1--the first flower ,i have seen4 ,the ,ictodes ftidus4 ,also mosses1 mingled red and green4 ,the red will pass for the blossom4 ,as for antiquities1 one of our old deserted country roads1 marked only by the parallel fences and cellar-hole with its bricks where the last inhabitant died1 the victim of intemperance1 fifty years ago1 with its bare and exhausted fields stretching around1 suggests to me an antiquity greater and more remote from the ,america of the newspapers than the tombs of ,etruria4 ,i insert the rise and fall of ,rome in the interval4 ,this is the decline and fall of the ,roman ,empire4 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is important to observe not only the subject of our pure and unalloyed joys1 but also the secret of any dissatisfaction one may feel4 ,in society1 in the best institutions of men1 ,i remark a certain precocity4 ,when we should be growing children1 we are already little men4 ,infants as we are1 we make haste to be weaned from our great mother's breast1 and cultivate our parts by intercourse with one another4 ,i have not much faith in the method of restoring impoverished soils which relies on manuring mainly and does not add some virgin soil or muck4 ,many a poor1 sore-eyed student that ,i have heard of would grow faster1 both intellectually and physically1 if1 instead of sitting up so very late to study1 he honestly slumbered a fool's allowance4#adj ,i would not have every man cultivated1 any more than ,i would have every acre of earth cultivated4 ,some must be preparing a mould by the annual decay of the forests which they sustain4#ada ,saw half a dozen cows let out and standing about in a retired meadow as in a cow-yard4 ,feb4 #ad4 ,consider the farmer1 who is commonly regarded as the healthiest man4 ,he may be the toughest1 but he is not the healthiest4 ,he has lost his elasticity2 he can neither run nor jump4 ,health is the free use and command of all our faculties1 and equal development4 ,his is the health of the ox1 an overworked buffalo4 ,his joints are stiff4 ,the resemblance is true even in particulars4 ,he is cast away in a pair of cowhide boots1 and travels at an ox's pace4 ,indeed1 in some places he puts his foot into the skin of an ox's shin4 ,it would do him good to be thoroughly shampooed to make him supple4 ,his health is an insensibility to all influence4 ,but only the healthiest man in the world is sensible to the finest influence2 he who is affected by more or less of electricity in the air4 ,we shall see but little way if we require to understand what we see4 ,how few things can a man measure with the tape of his understanding6 ,how many greater things might he be seeing in the meanwhile6 ,one afternoon in the fall1 ,november #bast1 ,i saw ,fair ,haven ,pond with its island and meadow2 between the island and the shore1 a strip of perfectly smooth water in the lee of the island2 and two hawks sailing over it2 and something more ,i saw which cannot easily be described1 which made me say to myself that the landscape could not be improved4 ,i did not see how it could be improved4 ,yet ,i do not know what these things can be2 ,i begin to see such objects only when ,i leave off understanding them1 and afterwards remember that ,i did not appreciate them before4 ,but ,i get no further than this4 ,how adapted these forms and colors to our eyes1 a meadow and its islands6 ,what are these things8 ,yet the hawks and the ducks keep so aloof1 and nature is so reserved6 ,we are made to love the river and the meadow1 as the wind to ripple the water4#adb ,there is a difference between eating for strength and from mere gluttony4 ,the ,hottentots eagerly devour the marrow of the koodoo and other antelopes raw1 as a matter of course1 and herein perchance have stolen a march on the cooks of ,paris4 ,the eater of meat must come to this4 ,this is better than stall-fed cattle and slaughter-house pork4 ,possibly they derive a certain wild-animal vigor therefrom which the most artfully cooked meats do not furnish4#adc ,we learn by the ,january thaw that the winter is intermittent and are reminded of other seasons4 ,the back of the winter is broken4 ,feb4 #ae4 ,fatal is the discovery that our friend is fallible1 that he has prejudices4 ,he is1 then1 only prejudiced in our favor4 ,what is the value of his esteem who does not justly esteem another8 ,alas6 ,alas6 when my friend begins to deal in confessions1 breaks silence1 makes a theme of friendship 7which then is always something past71 and descends to merely human relations6 ,as long as there is a spark of love remaining1 cherish that alone4 ,only that can be kindled into a flame4 ,i thought that friendship1 that love was still possible between us4 ,i thought that we had not withdrawn very far asunder4 ,but now that my friend rashly1 thoughtlessly1 profanely speaks1 recognizing the distance between us1 that distance seems infinitely increased4 ,of our friends we do not incline to speak1 to complain1 to others2 we would not disturb the foundations of confidence that may still be4 99 99 99 99 99 ,why should we not still continue to live with the intensity and rapidity of infants8 ,is not the world1 are not the heavens1 as unfathomed as ever8 ,have we exhausted any joy1 any sentiment8 99 99 99 99 99 ,the author of ,festus well exclaims3-- 8,could we but think with the intensity ,we love with1 we might do great things1 ,i think40 ,feb4 #af4 ,do we call this the land of the free8 ,what is it to be free from ,king ,george the ,fourth and continue the slaves of prejudice8 ,what is it to be born free and equal1 and not to live8 ,what is the value of any political freedom1 but as a means to moral freedom8 ,is it a freedom to be slaves or a freedom to be free1 of which we boast8 ,we are a nation of politicians1 concerned about the outsides of freedom1 the means and outmost defenses of freedom4 ,it is our children's children who may perchance be essentially free4 ,we tax ourselves unjustly4 ,there is a part of us which is not represented4 ,it is taxation without representation4 ,we quarter troops upon ourselves4 ,in respect to virtue or true manhood1 we are essentially provincial1 not metropolitan1--mere ,jonathans4 ,we are provincial1 because we do not find at home our standards2 because we do not worship truth but the reflection of truth2 because we are absorbed in and narrowed by trade and commerce and agriculture1 which are but means and not the end4 ,we are essentially provincial1 ,i say1 and so is the ,english ,parliament4 ,mere country bumpkins they betray themselves1 when any more important question arises for them to settle4 ,their natures are subdued to what they work in6 ,the finest manners in the world are awkwardness and fatuity when contrasted with a finer intelligence4 ,they appear but as the fashions of past days1--mere courtliness1 small-clothes1 and knee-buckles1--have the vice of getting out of date2 an attitude merely4 ,the vice of manners is that they are continually deserted by the character2 they are cast-off clothes or shells1 claiming the respect of the living creature4 ,you are presented with the shells instead of the meat1 and it is no excuse generally that1 in the case of some fish1 the shells are of more worth than the meat4 ,the man who thrusts his manners upon me does as if he were to insist on introducing me to his cabinet of curiosities1 when ,i wish to see himself4 ,manners are conscious2 character is unconscious4#add ,my neighbor does not recover from his formal bow so soon as ,i do from the pleasure of meeting him4 99 99 99 99 99 ,feb4 #ah4 ,tuesday4 ,ground nearly bare of snow4 ,pleasant day with a strong south wind4 ,skated1 though the ice was soft in spots4 ,saw the skunk-cabbage in flower4 ,gathered nuts and apples on the bare ground1 still sound and preserving their colors1 red and green1 many of them4 ,yesterday the river was over the road by ,hubbard's ,bridge4 ,surveyed ,white ,pond yesterday1 ,february #agth4 ,there is little or nothing to be remembered written on the subject of getting an honest living4 ,neither the ,new ,testament nor ,poor ,richard speaks to our condition4 ,i cannot think of a single page which entertains1 much less answers1 the questions which ,i put to myself on this subject4 ,how to make the getting our living poetic6 for if it is not poetic1 it is not life but death that we get4 ,is it that men are too disgusted with their experience to speak of it8 or that commonly they do not question the common modes8 ,the most practically important of all questions1 it seems to me1 is how shall ,i get my living1 and yet ,i find little or nothing said to the purpose in any book4 ,those who are living on the interest of money inherited1 or dishonestly1 i4 e4 by false methods1 acquired1 are of course incompetent to answer it4 ,i consider that society with all its arts1 has done nothing for us in this respect4 ,one would think1 from looking at literature1 that this question had never disturbed a solitary individual's musings4 ,cold and hunger seem more friendly to my nature than those methods which men have adopted and advise to ward them off4#ade ,if it were not that ,i desire to do something here1--accomplish some work1--,i should certainly prefer to suffer and die rather than be at the pains to get a living by the modes men propose4 ,there may be an excess even of informing light4 ,niepce1 a ,frenchman1 announced that 8no substance can be exposed to the sun's rays without undergoing a chemical change40 ,granite rocks and stone structures and statues of metal1 etc41 8are10 says ,robert ,hunt1 8all alike destructively acted upon during the hours of sunshine1 and1 but for provisions of nature no less wonderful1 would soon perish under the delicate touch of the most subtile of the agencies of the universe40 ,but ,niepce showed1 says ,hunt1 8that those bodies which underwent this change during daylight possessed the power of restoring themselves to their original conditions during the hours of night1 when this excitement was no longer influencing them40 ,so1 in the case of the daguerreotype1 8the picture which we receive to-night1 unless we adopt some method of securing its permanency1 fades away before the morning1 and we try to restore it in vain40 7,infers7 8the hours of darkness are as necessary to the inorganic creation as we know night and sleep are to the organic kingdom40 ,such is the influence of 8actinism10 that power in the sun's rays which produces a chemical effect4#adf ,feb4 #be4 ,a very windy day4 ,a slight snow which fell last night was melted at noon4 ,a strong1 gusty wind2 the waves on the meadows make a fine show4 ,i saw at ,hubbard's ,bridge that all the ice had been blown up-stream from the meadows1 and was collected over the channel against the bridge in large cakes4 ,these were covered and intermingled with a remarkable quantity of the meadow's crust4 ,there was no ice to be seen up-stream and no more downstream4 ,the meadows have been flooded for a fortnight1 and this water has been frozen barely thick enough to bear once only4 ,the old ice on the meadows was covered several feet deep4 ,i observed from the bridge1 a few rods off northward1 what looked like an island directly over the channel4 ,it was the crust of the meadow afloat4 ,i reached it with a little risk and found it to be four rods long by one broad1--the surface of the meadow with cranberry vines1 etc41 all connected and in their natural position1 and no ice visible but around its edges4 ,it appeared to be the frozen crust 7which was separated from the unfrozen soil as ice is from the water beneath71 buoyed up 7871 perchance1 by the ice around its edges frozen to the stubble4 ,was there any pure ice under it8 ,had there been any above it8 ,will frozen meadow float8 ,had ice which originally supported it from above melted except about the edges8 ,when the ice melts or the soil thaws1 of course it falls to the bottom1 wherever it may be4 ,here is another agent employed in the distribution of plants4 ,i have seen where a smooth shore which ,i frequented for bathing was in one season strewn with these hummocks1 bearing the button-bush with them1 which have now changed the character of the shore4 ,there were many rushes and lily-pad stems on the ice4 ,had the ice formed about them as they grew1 broken them off when it floated away1 and so they were strewn about on it8 ,feb4 #bf4 ,wednesday4 ,examined the floating meadow again to-day4 ,it is more than a foot thick1 the under part much mixed with ice1--ice and muck4 ,it appeared to me that the meadow surface had been heaved by the frost1 and then the water had run down and under it1 and finally1 when the ice rose1 lifted it up1 wherever there was ice enough mixed with it to float it4 ,i saw large cakes of ice with other large cakes1 the latter as big as a table1 on top of them4 ,probably the former rose while the latter were already floating about4 ,the plants scattered about were bulrushes and lily-pad stems4 ,saw five red-wings and a song sparrow 787 this afternoon4 ,feb4 #bg4 ,saw to-day on ,pine ,hill behind ,mr4 ,joseph ,merriam's house a ,norway pine1 the first ,i have seen in ,concord4 ,mr4 ,gleason pointed it out to me as a singular pine which he did not know the name of4 ,it was a very handsome tree1 about twenty-five feet high4 ,e4 ,wood thinks that he has lost the surface of two acres of his meadow by the ice4 ,got fifteen cartloads out of a hummock left on another meadow4 ,blue-joint was introduced into the first meadow where it did not grow before4 99 99 99 99 99 ,of two men1 one of whom knows nothing about a subject1 and1 what is extremely rare1 knows that he knows nothing1 and the other really knows something about it1 but thinks that he knows all1--what great advantage has the latter over the former8 which is the best to deal with8 ,i do not know that knowledge amounts to anything more definite than a novel and grand surprise1 or a sudden revelation of the insufficiency of all that we had called knowledge before2 an indefinite sense of the grandeur and glory of the universe4 ,it is the lighting up of the mist by the sun4 ,but man cannot be said to know in any higher sense1 any more than he can look serenely and with impunity in the face of the sun4#adg ,a culture which imports much muck from the meadows and deepens the soil1 not that which trusts to heating manures and improved agricultural implements only4 99 99 99 99 99 ,how1 when a man purchases a thing1 he is determined to get and get hold of it1 using how many expletives and how long a string of synonymous or similar terms signifying possession1 in the legal process6 ,what's mine's my own4 ,an old deed of a small piece of swamp land1 which ,i have lately surveyed at the risk of being mired past recovery1 says that 8the said ,spaulding his ,heirs and ,assigns1 shall and may from this 787 time1 and at all times forever hereafter1 by force and virtue of these presents1 lawfully1 peaceably and quietly have1 hold1 use1 occupy1 possess and enjoy the said swamp10 etc4 99 99 99 99 99 ,magnetic iron1 being anciently found in ,magnesia1--hence magnes1 or magnet1--employed by ,pliny and others4 ,chinese appear to have discovered the magnet very early1 ,a4 ,d4 #aba and before 7872 used by them to steer ships in #dai2 mentioned by an ,icelander1 #ajfh2 in a ,french poem1 #aaha2 in ,torfus' ,history of ,norway1 #abff4 ,used by ,de ,gama in #adbg4 ,leading stone1 hence loadstone4 ,the peroxide of hydrogen1 or ozone1 at first thought to be a chemical curiosity merely1 is found to be very generally diffused through nature4 ,the following bears on the floating ice which has risen from the bottom of the meadows4 ,robert ,hunt says3 8,water conducts heat downward but very slowly2 a mass of ice will remain undissolved but a few inches under water on the surface of which ether or any other inflammable body is burning4 ,if ice swam beneath the surface1 the summer sun would scarcely have power to thaw it2 and thus our lakes and seas would be gradually converted into solid masses40 ,the figures of serpents1 of griffins1 flying dragons1 and other embellishments of heraldry1 the eastern idea of the world on an elephant1 that on a tortoise1 and that on a serpent again1 etc41 usually regarded as mythological in the common sense of that word1 are thought by some to 8indicate a faint and shadowy knowledge of a previous state of organic existence10 such as geology partly reveals4 ,the fossil tortoise has been found in ,asia large enough to support an elephant4 ,ammonites1 snake-stones1 or petrified snakes have been found from of old1 often decapitated4 ,in the northern part of ,great ,britain the fossil remains of encrinites are called 8,st4 ,cuthbert's beads40 8,fiction dependent on truth40 ,westward is heaven1 or rather heavenward is the west4 ,the way to heaven is from east to west round the earth4 ,the sun leads and shows it4 ,the stars1 too1 light it4 ,nature and man2 some prefer the one1 others the other2 but that is all de gustibus4 ,it makes no odds at what well you drink1 provided it be a well-head4 ,walking in the woods1 it may be1 some afternoon1 the shadow of the wings of a thought flits across the landscape of my mind1 and ,i am reminded how little eventful are our lives4 ,what have been all these wars and rumors of wars1 and modern discoveries and improvements so-called8 ,a mere irritation in the skin4 ,but this shadow which is so soon past1 and whose substance is not detected1 suggests that there are events of importance whose interval is to us a true historic period4#adh ,the lecturer is wont to describe the ,nineteenth ,century1 the ,american of the last generation1 in an off-hand and triumphant strain1 wafting him to paradise1 spreading his fame by steam and telegraph1 recounting the number of wooden stopples he has whittled4 ,but who does not perceive that this is not a sincere or pertinent account of any man's or nation's life8 ,it is the hip-hip-hurrah and mutual-admiration-society style4 ,cars go by1 and we know their substance as well as their shadow4 ,they stop and we get into them4 ,but those sublime thoughts passing on high do not stop1 and we never get into them4 ,their conductor is not like one of us4 ,i feel that the man who1 in his conversation with me about the life of man in ,new ,england1 lays much stress on railroads1 telegraphs1 and such enterprises does not go below the surface of things4 ,he treats the shallow and transitory as if it were profound and enduring4 ,in one of the mind's avatars1 in the interval between sleeping and waking1 aye1 even in one of the interstices of a ,hindoo dynasty1 perchance1 such things as the ,nineteenth ,century1 with all its improvements1 may come and go again4 ,nothing makes a deep and lasting impression but what is weighty4 ,obey the law which reveals1 and not the law revealed4 ,i wish my neighbors were wilder4 ,a wildness whose glance no civilization could endure4#adi ,he who lives according to the highest law is in one sense lawless4 ,that is an unfortunate discovery1 certainly1 that of a law which binds us where we did not know that we were bound4 ,live free1 child of the mist6 ,he for whom the law is made1 who does not obey the law but whom the law obeys1 reclines on pillows of down and is wafted at will whither he pleases1 for man is superior to all laws1 both of heaven and earth1 when he takes his liberty4#aej ,wild as if we lived on the marrow of antelopes devoured raw4#aea ,there would seem to be men in whose lives there have been no events of importance1 more than in the beetle's which crawls in our path4 ,march #ai4 ,the ice in the pond is now soft and will not bear a heavy stone thrown from the bank4 ,it is melted for a rod from the shore4 ,the ground has been bare of snow for some weeks1 but yesterday we had a violent northeast snow-storm1 which has drifted worse than any the past winter4 ,the spring birds--ducks and geese1 etc4--had come1 but now the spring seems far off4 ,no good ever came of obeying a law which you had discovered4 ,march #bc4 ,for a week past the elm buds have been swollen4 ,the willow catkins have put out4 ,the ice still remains in ,walden1 though it will not bear4 ,mather ,howard saw a large meadow near his house which had risen up but was prevented from floating away by the bushes4 ,march #bg4 ,walden is two-thirds broken up4 ,it will probably be quite open by to-morrow night4 ,march #cj4 ,spring is already upon us4 ,i see the tortoises1 or rather ,i hear them drop from the bank into the brooks at my approach4 ,the catkins of the alders have blossomed4 ,the pads are springing at the bottom of the water4 ,the pewee is heard1 and the lark4 99 99 99 99 99 8,it is only the squalid savages and degraded boschmen of creation that have their feeble teeth and tiny stings steeped in venom1 and so made formidable10--ants1 centipedes1 and mosquitoes1 spiders1 wasps1 and scorpions4--,,hugh ,,miller4 ,to attain to a true relation to one human creature is enough to make a year memorable4 ,the man for whom law exists--the man of forms1 the conservative--is a tame man4 ,,carrying ,,off ,,sims ,a recent ,english writer 7,de ,quincey71#aeb endeavoring to account for the atrocities of ,caligula and ,nero1 their monstrous and anomalous cruelties1 and the general servility and corruption which they imply1 observes that it is difficult to believe that 8the descendants of a people so severe in their habits0 as the ,romans had been 8could thus rapidly0 have degenerated and that1 8in reality1 the citizens of ,rome were at this time a new race1 brought together from every quarter of the world1 but especially from ,asia40 ,a vast 8proportion of the ancient citizens had been cut off by the sword10 and such multitudes of emancipated slaves from ,asia had been invested with the rights of citizens 8that1 in a single generation1 ,rome became almost transmuted into a baser metal40 ,as ,juvenal complained1 8the ,orontes 444 had mingled its impure waters with those of the ,tiber40 ,and 8probably1 in the time of ,nero1 not one man in six was of pure ,roman descent40 ,instead of such1 says another1 8came ,syrians1 ,cappadocians1 ,phrygians1 and other enfranchised slaves40 8,these in half a century had sunk so low1 that ,tiberius pronounced her ,rome's#aec very senators to be homines ad servitutem natos1 men born to be slaves40#aed ,so one would say1 in the absence of particular genealogical evidence1 that the vast majority of the inhabitants of the city of ,boston1 even those of senatorial dignity1--the ,curtises1 ,lunts1 ,woodburys1 and others1--were not descendants of the men of the ,revolution1--the ,hancocks1 ,adamses1 ,otises1--but some 8,syrians1 ,cappadocians1 and ,phrygians10 merely1 homines ad servitutem natos1 men born to be slaves4 ,but ,i would have done with comparing ourselves with our ancestors1 for on the whole ,i believe that even they1 if somewhat braver and less corrupt than we1 were not men of so much principle and generosity as to go to war in behalf of another race in their midst4 ,i do not believe that the ,north will soon come to blows with the ,south on this question4 ,it would be too bright a page to be written in the history of the race at present4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is such an officer1 if not such a man1 as the ,governor of ,massachusetts4 ,what has he been about the last fortnight8 ,he has probably had as much as he could do to keep on the fence during this moral earthquake4 ,it seems to me that no such keen satire1 no such cutting insult1 could be offered to that man1 as the absence of all inquiry after him in this crisis4 ,it appears to have been forgotten that there was such a man or such an office4 ,yet no doubt he has been filling the gubernatorial chair all the while4 ,one ,mr4 ,boutwell1--so named1 perchance1 because he goes about well to suit the prevailing wind4#aee ,in '#ge two or three hundred of the inhabitants of ,concord assembled at one of the bridges with arms in their hands to assert the right of three millions to tax themselves1 to have a voice in governing themselves4 ,about a week ago the authorities of ,boston1 having the sympathy of many of the inhabitants of ,concord1 assembled in the gray of the dawn1 assisted by a still larger armed force1 to send back a perfectly innocent man1 and one whom they knew to be innocent1 into a slavery as complete as the world ever knew4 ,of course it makes not the least difference--,i wish you to consider this--who the man was1--whether he was ,jesus ,christ or another1--for inasmuch as ye did it unto the least of these his brethren ye did it unto him4 ,do you think he would have stayed here in liberty and let the black man go into slavery in his stead8 ,they sent him back1 ,i say1 to live in slavery with other three millions--mark that--whom the same slave power1 or slavish power1 ,north and ,south1 holds in that condition1--three millions who do not1 like the first mentioned1 assert the right to govern themselves but simply to run away and stay away from their prison4 ,just a week afterward1 those inhabitants of this town who especially sympathize with the authorities of ,boston in this their deed caused the bells to be rung and the cannon to be fired to celebrate the courage and the love of liberty of those men who assembled at the bridge4 ,as if those three millions had fought for the right to be free themselves1 but to hold in slavery three million others4 ,why1 gentlemen1 even consistency1 though it is much abused1 is sometimes a virtue4 ,every humane and intelligent inhabitant of ,concord1 when he or she heard those bells and those cannon1 thought not so much of the events of the #aith of ,april1 #agge1 as of the event of the #abth of ,april1 #ahea4 ,i wish my townsmen to consider that1 whatever the human law may be1 neither an individual nor a nation can ever deliberately commit the least act of injustice without having to pay the penalty for it4 ,a government which deliberately enacts injustice1 and persists in it6--it will become the laughing-stock of the world4 ,much as has been said about ,american slavery1 ,i think that commonly we do not yet realize what slavery is4 ,if ,i were seriously to propose to ,congress to make mankind into sausages1 ,i have no doubt that most would smile at my proposition and1 if any believed me to be in earnest1 they would think that ,i proposed something much worse than ,congress had ever done4 ,but1 gentlemen1 if any of you will tell me that to make a man into a sausage would be much worse--would be any worse--than to make him into a slave1--than it was then to enact the fugitive slave law1--,i shall here accuse him of foolishness1 of intellectual incapacity1 of making a distinction without a difference4 ,the one is just as sensible a proposition as the other4#aef ,when ,i read the account of the carrying back of the fugitive into slavery1 which was read last ,sunday evening1 and read also what was not read here1 that the man who made the prayer on the wharf was ,daniel ,foster of ,concord1 ,i could not help feeling a slight degree of pride because1 of all the towns in the ,commonwealth1 ,concord was the only one distinctly named as being represented in that new tea-party1 and1 as she had a place in the first1 so would have a place in this1 the last and perhaps next most important chapter of the ,history of ,massachusetts4 ,but my second feeling1 when ,i reflected how short a time that gentleman has resided in this town1 was one of doubt and shame1 because the men of ,concord in recent times have done nothing to entitle them to the honor of having their town named in such a connection4 ,i hear a good deal said about trampling this law under foot4 ,why1 one need not go out of his way to do that4 ,this law lies not at the level of the head or the reason4 ,its natural habitat is in the dirt4 ,it was bred and has its life only in the dust and mire1 on a level with the feet2 and he who walks with freedom1 unless1 with a sort of quibbling and ,hindoo mercy1 he avoids treading on every venomous reptile1 will inevitably tread on it1 and so trample it under foot4 ,it has come to this1 that the friends of liberty1 the friends of the slave1 have shuddered when they have understood that his fate has been left to the legal tribunals1 so-called1 of the country to be decided4 ,the people have no faith that justice will be awarded in such a case4 ,the judge may decide this way or that2 it is a kind of accident at best4 ,it is evident that he is not a competent authority in so important a case4 ,i would not trust the life of my friend to the judges of all the ,supreme ,courts in the world put together1 to be sacrificed or saved by precedent4 ,i would much rather trust to the sentiment of the people1 which would itself be a precedent to posterity4 ,in their vote you would get something worth having at any rate1 but in the other case only the trammelled judgment of an individual1 of no significance1 be it which way it will4 ,i think that recent events will be valuable as a criticism on the administration of justice in our midst1 or rather as revealing what are the true sources of justice in any community4 ,it is to some extent fatal to the courts when the people are compelled to go behind the courts4 ,they learn that the courts are made for fair weather and for very civil cases4#aeg ,two pages missing4 let us entertain opinions of our own2#aeh let us be a town and not a suburb1 as far from ,boston in this sense as we were by the old road which led through ,lexington2 a place where tyranny may ever be met with firmness and driven back with defeat to its ships4 ,concord has several more bridges left of the same sort1 which she is taxed to maintain4 ,can she not raise men to defend them8 99 99 99 99 99 ,as for measures to be adopted1 among others ,i would advise abolitionists to make as earnest and vigorous and persevering an assault on the press1 as they have already made1 and with effect too1 on the church4 ,the church has decidedly improved within a year or two1 aye1 even within a fortnight2 but the press is1 almost without exception1 corrupt4 ,i believe that in this country the press exerts a greater and a more pernicious influence than the church4 ,we are not a religious people1 but we are a nation of politicians4 ,we do not much care for1 we do not read1 the ,bible1 but we do care for and we do read the newspaper4 ,it is a bible which we read every morning and every afternoon1 standing and sitting1 riding and walking4 ,it is a bible which every man carries in his pocket1 which lies on every table and counter1 which the mail and thousands of missionaries are continually dispersing4 ,it is the only book which ,america has printed1 and is capable of exerting an almost inconceivable influence for good or for bad4 ,the editor is a preacher whom you voluntarily support4 ,your tax is commonly one cent1 and it costs nothing for pew hire4 ,but how many of these preachers preach the truth8 ,i repeat the testimony of many an intelligent traveller1 as well as my own convictions1 when ,i say that probably no country was ever ruled by so mean a class of tyrants as are the editors of the periodical press in this country4 ,almost without exception the tone of the press is mercenary and servile4 ,the ,commonwealth1 and the ,liberator1 are the only papers1 as far as ,i know1 which make themselves heard in condemnation of the cowardice and meanness of the authorities of ,boston as lately exhibited4 ,the other journals1 almost without exception1--as the ,advertiser1 the ,transcript1 the ,journal1 the ,times1 ,bee1 ,herald1 etc41--by their manner of referring to and speaking of the ,fugitive ,slave ,law or the carrying back of the slave1 insult the common sense of the country4 ,and they do this for the most part1 because they think so to secure the approbation of their patrons1 and also1 one would think1 because they are not aware that a sounder sentiment prevails to any extent4 ,but1 thank fortune1 this preacher can be more easily reached by the weapons of the reformer than could the recreant priest4 ,the free men of ,new ,england have only to refrain from purchasing and reading these sheets1 have only to withhold their cents1 to kill a score of them at once4#aei 99 99 99 99 99 ,mahomet made his celestial journey in so short a time that 8on his return he was able to prevent the complete overturn of a vase of water1 which the angel ,gabriel had struck with his wing on his departure40 ,when he took refuge in a cave near ,mecca1 being on his flight 7,hegira7 to ,medina1 8by the time that the ,koreishites who were close behind#afj reached the mouth of the cavern1 an acacia tree had sprung up before it1 in the spreading branches of which a pigeon had made its nest1 and laid its eggs1 and over the whole a spider had woven its web40 ,he said of himself1 8,i am no king1 but the son of a ,koreishite woman1 who ate flesh dried in the sun40 ,he exacted 8a tithe of the productions of the earth1 where it was fertilized by brooks and rain2 and a twentieth part where its fertility was the result of irrigation40 ,april #bb4 ,had mouse-ear in blossom for a week4 ,observed the crowfoot on the ,cliffs in abundance1 and the saxifrage4 ,the wind last ,wednesday1 ,april #afth1 blew down a hundred pines on ,fair ,haven ,hill4 ,having treated my friend ill1 ,i wished to apologize2 but1 not meeting him1 ,i made an apology to myself4 ,it is not the invitation which ,i hear1 but which ,i feel1 that ,i obey4 ,april #bf4 ,the judge whose words seal the fate of a man for the longest time and furthest into eternity is not he who merely pronounces the verdict of the law1 but he1 whoever he may be1 who1 from a love of truth and unprejudiced by any custom or enactment of men1 utters a true opinion or sentence concerning him4 ,he it is that sentences him4#afa ,more fatal1 as affecting his good or ill fame1 is the utterance of the least inexpugnable truth concerning him1 by the humblest individual1 than the sentence of the supremest court in the land4 99 99 99 99 99 ,gathered the mayflower and cowslips yesterday1 and saw the houstonia1 violets1 etc4 ,saw a dandelion in blossom4 99 99 99 99 99 ,are they ,americans1 are they ,new-,englanders1 are they inhabitants of ,concord1--,buttricks and ,davises and ,hosmers by name1--who read and support the ,boston ,herald1 ,advertiser1 ,traveller1 ,journal1 ,transcript1 etc41 etc41 ,times8 ,is that the ,flag of our ,union8 ,could slavery suggest a more complete servility8 ,is there any dust which such conduct does not lick and make fouler still with its slime8 ,has not the ,boston ,herald acted its part well1 served its master faithfully8 ,how could it have gone lower on its belly8 ,how can a man stoop lower than he is low8 do more than put his extremities in the place of that head he has8 than make his head his lower extremity8 ,and when ,i say the ,boston ,herald ,i mean the ,boston press1 with such few and slight exceptions as need not be made4 ,when ,i have taken up this paper or the ,boston ,times1 with my cuffs turned up1 ,i have heard the gurgling of the sewer through every column2 ,i have felt that ,i was handling a paper picked out of the public sewers1 a leaf from the gospel of the gambling-house1 the groggery1 and the brothel1 harmonizing with the gospel of the ,merchants' ,exchange4#afb ,i do not know but there are some who1 if they were tied to the whipping-post and could but get one hand free1 would use it to ring the bells and fire the cannon to celebrate their liberty4 ,it reminded me of the ,roman ,saturnalia1 on which even the slaves were allowed to take some liberty4 ,so some of you took the liberty to ring and fire4 ,that was the extent of your freedom2 and when the sound of the bells died away1 your liberty died away also1 and when the powder was all expended1 your liberty went off with the smoke4 ,nowadays men wear a fool's-cap and call it a liberty-cap4 ,the joke could be no broader if the inmates of the prisons were to subscribe for all the powder to be used in such salutes1 and hire their jailors to do the firing and ringing for them4#afc ,april #bi4 ,every man1 perhaps1 is inclined to think his own situation singular in relation to friendship4 ,our thoughts would imply that other men have friends1 though we have not4 ,but ,i do not know of two whom ,i can speak of as standing in this relation to one another4 ,each one makes a standing offer to mankind1 8,on such and such terms ,i will give myself to you20 but it is only by a miracle that his terms are ever accepted4 ,we have to defend ourselves even against those who are nearest to friendship with us4 ,what a difference it is6--to perform the pilgrimage of life in the society of a mate1 and not to have an acquaintance among all the tribes of men6 ,what signifies the census--this periodical numbering of men--to one who has no friend8 ,i distinguish between my actual and my real communication with individuals4 ,i really communicate with my friends and congratulate myself and them on our relation and rejoice in their presence and society oftenest when they are personally absent4 ,i remember that not long ago1 as ,i laid my head on my pillow for the night1 ,i was visited by an inexpressible joy that ,i was permitted to know and be related to such mortals as ,i was then actually related to2 and yet no special event that ,i could think of had occurred to remind me of any with whom ,i was connected1 and by the next noon1 perchance1 those essences that had caused me joy would have receded somewhat4 ,i experienced a remarkable gladness in the thought that they existed4 ,their existence was then blessed to me4 ,yet such has never been my actual waking relation to any4 ,every one experiences that1 while his relation to another actually may be one of distrust and disappointment1 he may still have relations to him ideally and so really1 in spite of both4 ,he is faintly conscious of a confidence and satisfaction somewhere1 and all further intercourse is based on this experience of success4 ,the very dogs and cats incline to affection in their relation to man4 ,it often happens that a man is more humanely related to a cat or dog than to any human being4 ,what bond is it relates us to any animal we keep in the house but the bond of affection8 ,in a degree we grow to love one another4 ,april #cj4 ,what is a chamber to which the sun does not rise in the morning8 ,what is a chamber to which the sun does not set at evening8 ,such are often the chambers of the mind1 for the most part4 ,even the cat which lies on a rug all day commences to prowl about the fields at night1 resumes her ancient forest habits4 ,the most tenderly bred grimalkin steals forth at night1--watches some bird on its perch for an hour in the furrow1 like a gun at rest4 ,she catches no cold2 it is her nature4 ,caressed by children and cherished with a saucer of milk4 ,even she can erect her back and expand her tail and spit at her enemies like the wild cat of the woods4 ,sweet ,sylvia6 ,what is the singing of birds1 or any natural sound1 compared with the voice of one we love8 ,to one we love we are related as to nature in the spring4 ,our dreams are mutually intelligible4 ,we take the census1 and find that there is one4 ,love is a mutual confidence whose foundations no one knows4 ,the one ,i love surpasses all the laws of nature in sureness4 ,love is capable of any wisdom4 8,he that hath love and judgment too ,sees more than any other doe40 ,by our very mutual attraction1 and our attraction to all other spheres1 kept properly asunder4 ,two planets which are mutually attracted1 being at the same time attracted by the sun1 preserve equipoise and harmony4 ,does not the history of chivalry and knight-errantry suggest or point to another relation to woman than leads to marriage1 yet an elevating and all-absorbing one1 perchance transcending marriage8 ,as yet men know not one another1 nor does man know woman4 ,i am sure that the design of my maker when he has brought me nearest to woman was not the propagation1 but rather the maturation1 of the species4 ,man is capable of a love of woman quite transcending marriage4 ,i observe that the ,new ,york ,herald advertises situations wanted by 8respectable young women0 by the column1 but never by respectable young men1 rather 8intelligent0 and 8smart0 ones2 from which ,i infer that the public opinion of ,new ,york does not require young men to be respectable in the same sense in which it requires young women to be so4 ,may it consist with the health of some bodies to be impure8 ,,iv ,,may1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 ,may #a4 ,observed the ,nuphar advena1 yellow water-lily1 in blossom2 also the ,laurus ,benzoin1 or fever-bush1 spice-wood1 near ,william ,wheeler's in ,lincoln1 resembling the witch-hazel4 ,it is remarkable that this aromatic shrub1 though it grows by the roadside and does not hide itself1 may be1 as it were1 effectually concealed1 though it blossoms every spring4 ,it may be observed only once in many years4 ,the blossom-buds of the peach have expanded just enough to give a slight peach tint to the orchards4 ,in regard to purity1 ,i do not know whether ,i am much worse or better than my acquaintances4 ,if ,i confine my thought to myself1 ,i appear1 whether by constitution or by education1 irrevocably impure1 as if ,i should be shunned by my fellow-men if they knew me better1 as if ,i were of two inconsistent natures2 but again1 when ,i observe how the mass of men speak of woman and of chastity1--with how little love and reverence1--,i feel that so far ,i am unaccountably better than they4 ,i think that none of my acquaintances has a greater love and admiration for chastity than ,i have4 ,perhaps it is necessary that one should actually stand low himself in order to reverence what is high in others4 ,all distant landscapes seen from hilltops are veritable pictures1 which will be found to have no actual existence to him who travels to them4 8',t is distance lends enchantment to the view40 ,it is the bare landscape without this depth of atmosphere to glass it4 ,the distant river-reach seen in the north from the ,lincoln ,hill1 high in the horizon1 like the ocean stream flowing round ,homer's shield1 the rippling waves reflecting the light1 is unlike the same seen near at hand4 ,heaven intervenes between me and the object4 ,by what license do ,i call it ,concord ,river4 ,it redeems the character of rivers to see them thus4 ,they were worthy then of a place on ,homer's shield4 ,as ,i looked to-day from ,mt4 ,tabor in ,lincoln to the ,waltham hill1 ,i saw the same deceptive slope1 the near hill melting into the further inseparably1 indistinguishably2 it was one gradual slope from the base of the near hill to the summit of the further one1 a succession of copse-woods1 but ,i knew that there intervened a valley two or three miles wide1 studded with houses and orchards and drained by a considerable stream4 ,when the shadow of a cloud passed over the nearer hill1 ,i could distinguish its shaded summit against the side of the other4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i had in my mind's eye a silent gray tarn which ,i had seen the summer before high up on the side of a mountain1 ,bald ,mountain1 where the half-dead spruce trees stood far in the water draped with wreathy mist as with usnea moss1 made of dews1 where the mountain spirit bathed2 whose bottom was high above the surface of other lakes4 ,spruces whose dead limbs were more in harmony with the mists which draped them4 ,the forenoon that ,i moved to my house1 a poor old lame fellow who had formerly frozen his feet hobbled off the road1 came and stood before my door with one hand on each door-post1 looking into the house1 and asked for a drink of water4 ,i knew that rum or something like it was the only drink he loved1 but ,i gave him a dish of warm pond water1 which was all ,i had1 nevertheless1 which to my astonishment he drank1 being used to drinking4 ,nations6 ,what are nations8 ,tartars6 and ,huns6 and ,chinamen6 ,like insects they swarm4 ,the historian strives in vain to make them memorable4 ,it is for want of a man that there are so many men4 ,it is individuals that populate the world4 ,,the ,,spirit ,,of ,,lodin 8,i look down from my height on nations1 ,and they become ashes before me2 ,calm is my dwelling in the clouds2 ,pleasant are the great fields of my rest40#afd ,man is as singular as ,god4 99 99 99 99 99 ,there is a certain class of unbelievers who sometimes ask me such questions as1 if ,i think that ,i can live on vegetable food alone2 and to strike at the root of the matter at once1 ,i am accustomed to answer such1 8,yes1 ,i can live on board nails40 ,if they cannot understand that1 they cannot understand much that ,i have to say4 ,that cuts the matter short with them4 ,for my own part1 ,i am glad to hear of experiments of this kind being tried2 as that a young man tried for a fortnight to see if he could live on hard1 raw corn on the ear1 using his tooth for his only mortar4 ,the squirrel tribe tried the same and succeeded4 ,the human race is interested in these experiments1 though a few old women may be alarmed1 who own their thirds in mills4#afe 99 99 99 99 99 ,khaled would have his weary soldiers vigilant still2 apprehending a midnight sally from the enemy1 8,let no man sleep10 said he4 8,we shall have rest enough after death40 ,would such an exhortation be understood by ,yankee soldiers8 99 99 99 99 99 ,omar answered the dying ,abu ,beker3 8,o successor to the apostle of ,god6 spare me from this burden4 ,i have no need of the ,caliphat40 8,but the ,caliphat has need of you60 replied the dying ,abu ,beker4 99 99 99 99 99 8,heraclius had heard of the mean attire of the ,caliph ,omar1 and asked why1 having gained so much wealth by his conquests1 he did not go richly clad like other princes8 ,they replied1 that he cared not for this world1 but for the world to come1 and sought favor in the eyes of ,god alone4 #8,in what kind of a palace does he reside8' asked the emperor4 #8,in a house built of mud4' #8,who are his attendants8' #8,beggars and the poor4' #8,what tapestry does he sit upon8' #8,justice and equity4' #8,what is his throne8' #8,abstinence and true knowledge4' #8,what is his treasure8' #8,trust in ,god4' #8,and who are his guard8' #8,the bravest of the ,unitarians4'0 ,it was the custom of ,ziyad1 once governor of ,bassora1 8wherever he held sway1 to order the inhabitants to leave their doors open at night1 with merely a hurdle at the entrance to exclude cattle1 engaging to replace any thing that should be stolen3 and so effective was his police1 that no robberies were committed40 ,abdallah was 8so fixed and immovable in prayer1 that a pigeon once perched upon his head mistaking him for a statue40 ,may #f4 ,monday4 ,the ,harivansa describes a 8substance called ,poroucha1 a spiritual substance known also under the name of ,mahat1 spirit united to the five elements1 soul of being1 now enclosing itself in a body like ours1 now returning to the eternal body2 it is mysterious wisdom1 the perpetual sacrifice made by the virtue of the ,yoga1 the fire which animates animals1 shines in the sun1 and is mingled with all bodies4 ,its nature is to be born and to die1 to pass from repose to movement4 ,the spirit led astray by the senses1 in the midst of the creation of ,brahma1 engages itself in works and knows birth1 as well as death4 ,the organs of the senses are its paths1 and its work manifests itself in this creation of ,brahma4 ,thought tormented by desires1 is like the sea agitated by the wind4 ,brahma has said3 the heart filled with strange affections is to be here below purified by wisdom4 ,here below even1 clothed already as it were in a luminous form1 let the spirit1 though clogged by the bonds of the body1 prepare for itself an abode sure and permanent4 8,he who would obtain final emancipation must abstain from every exterior action4 ,the operation which conducts the pious and penitent ,brahman to the knowledge of the truth1 is all interior1 intellectual1 mental4 ,they are not ordinary practices which can bring light into the soul4 8,the ,mouni who desires his final emancipation will have care evening and morning to subdue his senses1 to fix his mind on the divine essence1 and to transport himself by the force of his soul to the eternal abode of ,vichnou4 ,although he may have engaged in works1 he does not wear the clog of them1 because his soul is not attached to them4 ,a being returns to life in consequence of the affection which he has borne for terrestrial things3 he finds himself emancipated1 when he has felt only indifference for them4 8,the ,richis mingle with nature1 which remains strange to their senses4 ,luminous and brilliant they cover themselves with a humid vapor1 under which they seem no more to exist1 although existing always1 like the thread which is lost and confounded in the woof4 8,free in this world1 as the birds in the air1 disengaged from every kind of chain4 8,thus the ,yogin1 absorbed in contemplation1 contributes for his part to creation3 he breathes a divine perfume1 he hears wonderful things4 ,divine forms traverse him without tearing him1 and united to the nature which is proper to him1 he goes1 he acts1 as animating original matter40 ,like some other preachers1 ,i have added my texts--derived from the ,chinese and ,hindoo scriptures--long after my discourse was written4 99 99 99 99 99 ,a commentary on the ,sankhya ,karika says1 8,by external knowledge worldly distinction is acquired2 by internal knowledge1 liberation40 99 99 99 99 99 ,the ,sankhya ,karika says1 8,by attainment of perfect knowledge1 virtue and the rest become causeless2 yet soul remains awhile invested with body1 as the potter's wheel continues whirling from the effect of the impulse previously given to it40 99 99 99 99 99 ,i rejoice that horses and steers have to be broken before they can be made the slaves of men1 and that men themselves have some wild oats still left to sow before they become submissive members of society4 ,undoubtedly all men are not equally fit subjects for civilization1 and because the majority1 like dogs and sheep1 are tame by inherited disposition1 is no reason why the others should have their natures broken1 that they may be reduced to the same level4 ,men are in the main alike1 but they were made several in order that they might be various4 ,if a low use is to be served1 one man will do nearly or quite as well as another2 if a high one1 individual excellence is to be regarded4 ,any man can stop a hole to keep the wind away1 but no other man can serve that use which the author of this illustration did4 ,confucius says1 8,the skins of the tiger and the leopard when they are tanned1 are as the skins of the dog and the sheep tanned40 ,but it is not the part of a true culture to tame tigers1 any more than it is to make sheep ferocious4 ,it is evident1 then1 that tanning their skins for shoes and the like is not the best use to which they can be put4#aff 99 99 99 99 99 ,how important is a constant intercourse with nature and the contemplation of natural phenomena to the preservation of moral and intellectual health6 ,the discipline of the schools or of business can never impart such serenity to the mind4 ,the philosopher contemplates human affairs as calmly and from as great a remoteness as he does natural phenomena4 ,the ethical philosopher needs the discipline of the natural philosopher4 ,he approaches the study of mankind with great advantages who is accustomed to the study of nature4 ,the ,brahman ,saradwata1 says the ,dharma ,sacontala1 was at first confounded on entering the city1 8but now10 says he1 8,i look on it as the freeman on the captive1 as a man just bathed in pure water on a man smeared with oil and dust40 ,may #aj4 ,heard the snipe over the meadows this evening4 ,may #ab4 ,heard the golden robin and the bobolink4 ,but where she has her seat1--whether in ,westford or in ,boxboro1--not even the assessors know4 ,inquire perchance of that dusky family on the cross-road1 which is said to have ,indian blood in their veins4 ,or perchance where this old cellar-hole now grassed over is faintly visible1 ,nature once had her dwelling4 ,ask the crazy old woman who brings huckleberries to the village1 but who lives nobody knows where4 99 99 99 99 99 ,if ,i have got false teeth1 ,i trust that ,i have not got a false conscience4 ,it is safer to employ the dentist than the priest to repair the deficiencies of nature4 ,by taking the ether the other day ,i was convinced how far asunder a man could be separated from his senses4 ,you are told that it will make you unconscious1 but no one can imagine what it is to be unconscious--how far removed from the state of consciousness and all that we call 8this world0--until he has experienced it4 ,the value of the experiment is that it does give you experience of an interval as between one life and another1--a greater space than you ever travelled4 ,you are a sane mind without organs1--groping for organs1--which if it did not soon recover its old senses would get new ones4 ,you expand like a seed in the ground4 ,you exist in your roots1 like a tree in the winter4 ,if you have an inclination to travel1 take the ether2 you go beyond the furthest star4 ,it is not necessary for them to take ether1 who in their sane and waking hours are ever translated by a thought2 nor for them to see with their hindheads1 who sometimes see from their foreheads2 nor listen to the spiritual knockings1 who attend to the intimations of reason and conscience4 ,may #af4 ,heard the whip-poor-will this evening4 ,a splendid full moon to-night4 ,walked from #f4cj to #aj ,p4 ,m4 ,lay on a rock near a meadow1 which had absorbed and retained much heat1 so that ,i could warm my back on it1 it being a cold night4 ,i found that the side of the sand-hill was cold on the surface1 but warm two or three inches beneath4#afg ,if there is a more splendid moonlight than usual1 only the belated traveller observes it4 ,when ,i am outside1 on the outskirts of the town1 enjoying the still majesty of the moon1 ,i am wont to think that all men are aware of this miracle1 that they too are silently worshipping this manifestation of divinity elsewhere4 ,but when ,i go into the house ,i am undeceived2 they are absorbed in checkers or chess or novel1 though they may have been advertised of the brightness through the shutters4 ,in the moonlight night what intervals are created6 ,the rising moon is related to the near pine tree which rises above the forest1 and we get a juster notion of distance4 ,the moon is only somewhat further off and on one side4 ,there may be only three objects1--myself1 a pine tree1 and the moon1 nearly equidistant4 ,talk of demonstrating the rotation of the earth on its axis1--see the moon rise1 or the sun6 ,the moonlight reveals the beauty of trees4 ,by day it is so light and in this climate so cold commonly1 that we do not perceive their shade4 ,we do not know when we are beneath them4 99 99 99 99 99 ,according to ,michaux1 the canoe birch 7,betula papyracea7 ceases below the forty-third degree of latitude4 ,sections of the wood from just below the first ramification are used to inlay mahogany1 in these parts4 ,it is brought from ,maine for fuel4 ,common white birch 7,b4 populifolia7 not found south of ,virginia4 ,its epidermis incapable of being divided like the canoe birch and the ,european white4 ,the common alder 7,alnus serrulata7 blooms in ,january4 ,the locust 7,robinia ,pseudacacia7 was one of the earliest trees introduced into ,europe from ,america 7by one ,robin1 about #afja72 now extensively propagated in ,england1 ,france1 and ,germany4 ,used for trunnels to the exclusion of all others in the ,middle and ,southern ,states4 ,instead of decaying1 acquire hardness with time4 ,may #ah4 ,sunday4 ,lady's-slipper almost fully blossomed4 ,the log of a canoe birch on ,fair ,haven1 cut down the last winter1 more than a foot in diameter at the stump2 one foot in diameter at ten feet from the ground4 ,i observed that all parts of the epidermis exposed to the air and light were white1 but the inner surfaces1 freshly exposed1 were a buff or salmon-color4 ,sinclair says that in winter it is white throughout4 ,but this was cut before the sap flowed886 ,was there any sap in the log8 ,i counted about fifty rings4 ,the shrub oaks are now blossoming4 ,the scarlet tanagers are come4 ,the oak leaves of all colors are just expanding1 and are more beautiful than most flowers4 ,the hickory buds are almost leaves4 ,the landscape has a new life and light infused into it4 ,the deciduous trees are springing1 to countenance the pines1 which are evergreen4 ,it seems to take but one summer day to fetch the summer in4 ,the turning-point between winter and summer is reached4 ,the birds are in full blast4 ,there is a peculiar freshness about the landscape2 you scent the fragrance of new leaves1 of hickory and sassafras1 etc4 ,and to the eye the forest presents the tenderest green4 ,the blooming of the apple trees is becoming general4 ,i think that ,i have made out two kinds of poplar1--the ,populus tremuloides1 or ,american aspen1 and the ,p4 grandidentata1 or large ,american aspen1 whose young leaves are downy4 99 99 99 99 99 ,michaux says that the locust begins to convert its sap into perfect wood from the third year2 which is not done by the oak1 the chestnut1 the beech1 and the elm till after the tenth or the fifteenth year4 ,he quotes the saying1 8,the foot of the owner is the best manure for his land40 8,he0 is ,augustus ,l4 ,hillhouse1 who writes the account of the olive at the request of ,michaux4 ,the elder ,michaux found the balsam poplar 7,p4 balsamifera7 very abundant on ,lake ,st4 ,john and the ,saguenay ,river1 where it is eighty feet high and three feet in diameter4 ,this1 however1 is distinct from the ,p4 candicans1 heart-leaved balsam poplar1 which ,m4 finds hereabouts1 though never in the woods1 and does not know where it came from4 ,he praises the ,lombardy poplar because1 its limbs being compressed about the trunk1 it does not interfere with the walls of a house nor obstruct the windows4 ,no wood equal to our black ash for oars1 so pliant and elastic and strong1 second only to hickory for handspikes2 used also for chair-bottoms and riddles4 ,the ,french call the nettle-tree bois inconnu4 ,our white elm 7,ulmus ,americana7 8the most magnificent vegetable of the temperate zone40 ,the ,pinus mitis1 yellow pine1 or spruce pine1 or short-leaved pine4 ,a two-leaved pine widely diffused1 but not found northward beyond certain districts of ,connecticut and ,massachusetts4 ,in ,new ,jersey fifty or sixty feet high and fifteen to eighteen inches in diameter4 ,sometimes three leaves on fresh shoots2 smallest of pine cones2 seeds cast first year4 ,very excellent wood for houses1 masts1 decks1 yards1 beams1 and cabins1 next in durability to the long-leaved pine4 ,called at ,liverpool ,new ,york pine4 ,its regular branches make it to be called spruce pine sometimes4 ,pinus australis1 or long-leaved pine1 an invaluable tree1 called yellow pine1 pitch pine1 and broom pine where it grows2 in the ,north1 ,southern pine and red pine2 in ,england1 ,georgia pitch pine4 ,first appears at ,norfolk1 ,virginia2 thence stretches six hundred miles southwest4 ,sixty or seventy feet high1 by fifteen to eighteen inches2 leaves a foot long1 three in a sheath2 negroes use them for brooms4 ,being stronger1 more compact and durable1 because the resin is equally distributed1 and also fine-grained and susceptible of a bright polish1 it is preferred to every other pine4 ,in naval architecture1 most esteemed of all pines1--keels1 beams1 side-planks1 trunnels1 etc4 ,for decks preferred to yellow pine1--and flooring houses4 ,sold for more at ,liverpool than any other pine4 ,moreover it supplies nearly all the resinous matter used and exported4 ,others which contain much pitch are more dispersed4 ,at present 7#ahai7 this business is confined to ,north ,carolina4 ,m4 says the branches of resinous trees consist almost wholly of wood1 of which the organization is even more perfect than in the body of the tree4 ,they use dead wood for the tar1 etc41 in which it has accumulated4 ,says the vicinity of ,brunswick1 ,me41 and ,burlington1 ,vt41 are the most northerly limits of the pitch pine or ,p4 rigida4 7,i saw what ,i should have called a pitch pine at ,montmorency47 ,white pine 7,p4 ,strobus7 most abundant between forty-third and forty-seventh degrees1 one hundred and eighty feet by seven and eight twelfths the largest4 8,the loftiest and most valuable0 of the productions of the ,new ,hampshire forest4 ,the black spruce is called pinette noire and pinette la bire in ,canada4 ,from its strength best substitute for oak and larch4 ,used here for rafters and preferred to hemlock2 tougher than white pine1 but more liable to crack4 ,the white spruce 7,abies alba7 called pinette blanche in ,canada4 ,not so large as the last and wood inferior4 ,hemlock spruce 7,abies ,canadensis7 called prusse in ,canada4 ,in ,maine1 ,vermont1 and upper ,new ,hampshire1 three fourths of the evergreen woods1 the rest being black spruce4 ,belongs to cold regions2 begins to appear about ,hudson's ,bay4 ,its fibre makes the circuit of stocks fifteen or twenty inches in diameter in ascending five or six feet4 ,old trees have their circles separated1 and the boards are shaky4 ,decays rapidly when exposed to the air4 ,it is firmer1 though coarser1 than the white pine2 affords tighter hold to nails4 ,used in ,maine for threshing-floors1 resisting indentation4 ,most common use sheathing of houses1 to be covered with clapboards4 ,used for laths4 ,white cedar 7,cupressus thyoides74 8,the perfect wood resists the succession of dryness and moisture longer than that of any other species20 hence for shingles4 ,larch 7,larix ,americana72 in ,canada pinette rouge2 tamarack by the ,dutch4 ,male aments appear before the leaves4 ,wood superior to any pine or spruce in strength and durability4 ,used in ,maine for knees4 ,cedar of ,lebanon 7,larix cedrus7 largest and most majestic of resinous trees of the ,old ,world and one of the finest vegetable productions of the globe4 ,cedar ,island in ,lake ,champlain northern limit of red cedar 7,juniperus ,virginiana74 ,eastward1 not beyond ,wiscasset4 ,seeds mature at beginning of fall and sown at once2 shoot next spring4 ,gin made from them4 ,arbor-vit 7,thuya occidentalis71 the only species of ,thuya in the ,new ,world4 ,lake ,st4 ,john in ,canada its northern limit2 abounds between #dh #ej and #de4 ,the posts last thirty-five or forty years1 and the rails sixty1 or three or four times as long as those of any other species4 ,in northern ,new ,england ,states the best for fences2 last longer in clay than sand4 ,the superiority of mahogany in the fineness of its grain and its hardness1 which make it susceptible of a brilliant polish4 ,native trees in ,northern ,states used in cabinet making are black1 yellow1 and canoe birches1 red-flowering curled maple1 bird's-eye maple1 wild cherry1 and sumach4 ,the circles of peck and other measures made at ,hingham of black1 red1 or gray oak are 8always of a dull blue color1 produced by the gallic acid of the wood acting upon the iron vessel in which it is boiled40 ,white ash used for sieve rims1 rake heads and handles1 scythe handles1 pulleys1 etc4 ,rake teeth of the mockernut hickory4 ,in ,new ,york and ,philadelphia 8the price of wood for fuel#afh nearly equals and sometimes exceeds that of the best wood in ,paris1 though this immense capital annually requires more than #cjj1jjj cords1 and is surrounded to the distance of #cjj miles by cultivated plains40 ,said in book of #ahai4 ,may #ai4 ,found the ,arum triphyllum and the nodding trillium1 or wake-robin1 in ,conant's ,swamp4 ,an ash also in bloom there1 and the sassafras quite striking4 ,also the fringed polygala by ,conantum wood4 99 99 99 99 99 ,sinclair says the hornbeam is called 8swamp beech0 in ,vermont4 ,may #bj4 ,tuesday4 ,there is1 no doubt1 a perfect analogy between the life of the human being and that of the vegetable1 both of the body and the mind4 ,the botanist ,gray says3-- 8,the organs of plants are of two sorts3--#a4 ,those of ,vegetation1 which are concerned in growth1--by which the plant takes in the arial and earthy matters on which it lives1 and elaborates them into the materials of its own organized substance2 #b4 ,those of ,fructification or ,reproduction1 which are concerned with the propagation of the species40 ,so is it with the human being4 ,i am concerned first to come to my ,growth1 intellectually and morally 7and physically1 of course1 as a means to this1 for the body is the symbol of the soul71 and then to bear my ,fruit1 do my ,work1 propagate my kind1 not only physically but morally1 not only in body but in mind4 8,the organs of vegetation are the ,root1 ,stem1 and ,leaves4 ,the ,stem is the axis and original basis of the plant40 8,the first point of the stem prexists in the embryo 7i4 e4 in the rudimentary plantlet contained within the seed73 it is here called the radicle40 ,such is the rudiment of mind1 already partially developed1 more than a bud1 but pale1 having never been exposed to the light1 and slumbering coiled up1 packed away in the seed1 unfolded sic4 ,consider the still pale1 rudimentary1 infantine1 radicle-like thoughts of some students1 which who knows what they might expand to1 if they should ever come to the light and air1 if they do not become rancid and perish in the seed4 ,it is not every seed that will survive a thousand years4 ,other thoughts further developed1 but yet pale and languid1 like shoots grown in a cellar4 8,the plant 444 develops from the first in two opposite directions1 viz4 upwards to expand in the light and air to produce and continue the stem 7or ascending axis71 and downwards avoiding the light#afi to form the root 7or descending axis74 ,the former is ordinarily or in great part arial1 the latter subterranean40 ,so the mind develops from the first in two opposite directions3 upwards to expand in the light and air2 and downwards avoiding the light to form the root4 ,one half is arial1 the other subterranean4 ,the mind is not well balanced and firmly planted1 like the oak1 which has not as much root as branch1 whose roots like those of the white pine are slight and near the surface4 ,one half of the mind's development must still be root1--in the embryonic state1 in the womb of nature1 more unborn than at first4 ,for each successive new idea or bud1 a new rootlet in the earth4 ,the growing man penetrates yet deeper by his roots into the womb of things4 ,the infant is comparatively near the surface1 just covered from the light2 but the man sends down a tap-root to the centre of things4 ,the mere logician1 the mere reasoner1 who weaves his arguments as a tree its branches in the sky1--nothing equally developed in the roots1--is overthrown by the first wind4 ,as with the roots of the plant1 so with the roots of the mind1 the branches and branchlets of the root 8are mere repetitions for the purpose of multiplying the absorbing points1 which are chiefly the growing or newly formed extremities1 sometimes termed spongelets4 ,it bears no other organs40 ,so this organ of the mind's development1 the ,root1 bears no organs but spongelets or absorbing points4 ,annuals1 which perish root and all the first season1 especially have slender and thread-like fibrous roots4 ,but biennials are particularly characterized by distended1 fleshy roots containing starch1 a stock for future growth1 to be consumed during their second or flowering season1--as carrots1 radishes1 turnips4 ,perennials frequently have many thickened roots clustered together1 tuberous or palmate roots1 fasciculated or clustered as in the dahlia1 pony1 etc4 ,roots may spring from any part of the stem under favorable circumstances2 8that is to say in darkness and moisture1 as when covered by the soil or resting on its surface40 ,that is1 the most clear and ethereal ideas 7,antus-like7 readily ally themselves to the earth1 to the primal womb of things4 ,they put forth roots as soon as branches2 they are eager to be soiled4 ,no thought soars so high that it sunders these apron-strings of its mother4 ,the thought that comes to light1 that pierces the empyrean on the other side1 is wombed and rooted in darkness1 a moist and fertile darkness1--its roots in ,hades like the tree of life4 ,no idea is so soaring but it will readily put forth roots4 ,wherever there is an air-and-light-seeking bud about to expand1 it may become in the earth a darkness-seeking root4 ,even swallows and birds-of-paradise can walk on the ground4 ,to quote the sentence from ,gray entire3 8,roots not only spring from the root-end of the primary stem in germination1 but also from any subsequent part of the stem under favorable circumstances1 that is to say1 in darkness and moisture1 as when covered by the soil or resting on its surface40 ,no thought but is connected as strictly as a flower1 with the earth4 ,the mind flashes not so far on one side but its rootlets1 its spongelets1 find their way instantly on the other side into a moist darkness1 uterine1--a low bottom in the heavens1 even miasma-exhaling to such immigrants as are not acclimated4 ,a cloud is uplifted to sustain its roots4 ,imbosomed in clouds as in a chariot1 the mind drives through the boundless fields of space4 ,even there is the dwelling of ,indra4 ,i might here quote the following1 with the last--of roots3 8,they may even strike in the open air and light1 as is seen in the copious arial rootlets by which the ,ivy1 the ,poison ,ivy1 and the ,trumpet ,creeper climb and adhere to the trunks of trees or other bodies2 and also in ,epiphytes or ,air-plants1 of most warm regions1 which have no connection whatever with the soil1 but germinate and grow high in air on the trunks or branches of trees1 etc42 as well as in some terrestrial plants1 such as the ,banian and ,mangrove1 that send off arial roots from their trunks or branches1 which finally reach the ground40 ,so1 if our light-and-air-seeking tendencies extend too widely for our original root or stem1 we must send downward new roots to ally us to the earth4 ,also there are parasitic plants which have their roots in the branches or roots of other trees1 as the mistletoe1 the beech-drops1 etc4 ,there are minds which so have their roots in other minds as in the womb of nature1--if1 indeed1 most are not such86 ,may #ba4 ,wednesday4 ,yesterday ,i made out the black and the white ashes4 ,a double male white ash in ,miles's ,swamp1 and two black ashes with sessile leaflets4 ,a female white ash near railroad1 in ,stow's land4 ,the white ashes by ,mr4 ,pritchard's have no blossoms1 at least as yet4 ,if ,i am right1 the black ash is improperly so called1 from the color of its bark being lighter than the white4 ,though it answers to the description in other respects1 even to the elder-like odor of the leaves1 ,i should like still to see a description of the yellow ash which grows in made sic4 ,the day before yesterday ,i found the male sassafras in abundance but no female4 ,the leaves of my new pine on ,merriam's or ,pine ,hill are of intermediate length between those of the yellow pine and the ,norway pine4 ,i can find no cone to distinguish the tree by2 but1 as the leaves are semicylindrical and not hollowed ,i think it must be the red or ,norway ,pine1 though it does not look very red1 and is spruce6 answering perhaps to the description of the yellow pine1 which is sometimes called spruce pine4 ,to-day examined the flowers of the ,nemopanthes ,canadensis1--a genus of a single species1 says ,emerson4 ,it bears the beautiful crimson velvety berry of the swamps1 and is what ,i have heard called the cornel4 ,common name wild holly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i have heard now within a few days that peculiar dreaming sound of the frogs#agj which belongs to the summer1--their midsummer night's dream4 ,only that thought and that expression are good which are musical4 ,i think that we are not commonly aware that man is our contemporary1--that in this strange1 outlandish world1 so barren1 so prosaic1 fit not to live in but merely to pass through1 that even here so divine a creature as man does actually live4 ,man1 the crowning fact1 the god we know4 ,while the earth supports so rare an inhabitant1 there is somewhat to cheer us4 ,who shall say that there is no ,god1 if there is a just man4 ,it is only within a year that it has occurred to me that there is such a being actually existing on the globe4 ,now that ,i perceive that it is so1 many questions assume a new aspect4 ,we have not only the idea and vision of the divine ourselves1 but we have brothers1 it seems1 who have this idea also4 ,methinks my neighbor is better than ,i1 and his thought is better than mine4 ,there is a representative of the divinity on earth1 of whom all things fair and noble are to be expected4 ,we have the material of heaven here4 ,i think that the standing miracle to man is man4 ,behind the paling yonder1 come rain or shine1 hope or doubt1 there dwells a man1 an actual being who can sympathize with our sublimest thoughts4 ,the revelations of nature are infinitely glorious and cheering1 hinting to us of a remote future1 of possibilities untold2 but startlingly near to us some day we find a fellow-man4 ,the frog had eyed the heavens from his marsh1 until his mind was filled with visions1 and he saw more than belongs to this fenny earth4 ,he mistrusted that he was become a dreamer and visionary4 ,leaping across the swamp to his fellow1 what was his joy and consolation to find that he too had seen the same sights in the heavens1 he too had dreamed the same dreams6 ,from nature we turn astonished to this near but supernatural fact4 ,i think that the existence of man in nature is the divinest and most startling of all facts4 ,it is a fact which few have realized4 ,i can go to my neighbors and meet on ground as elevated as we could expect to meet upon if we were now in heaven4 8,and we live1 ,we of this mortal mixture1 in the same law ,as the pure colorless intelligence ,which dwells in ,heaven1 and the dead ,hadean shades40 ,i do not think that man can understand the importance of man's existence1 its bearing on the other phenomena of life1 until it shall become a remembrance to him the survivor that such a being or such a race once existed on the earth4 ,imagine yourself alone in the world1 a musing1 wondering1 reflecting spirit1 lost in thought1 and imagine thereafter the creation of man6--man made in the image of ,god6 ,looking into a book on dentistry the other day1 ,i observed a list of authors who had written on this subject4 ,there were ,ran and ,tan and ,yungerman1 and ,i was impressed by the fact that there was nothing in a name4 ,it was as if they had been named by the child's rigmarole of ,iery wiery ichery van1 tittle-tol-tan1 etc4 ,i saw in my mind a herd of wild creatures swarming over the earth1 and to each one its own herdsman had affixed some barbarous name1 or sound1 or syllables1 in his own dialect1--so in a thousand languages4 ,their names were seen to be as meaningless exactly as ,bose or ,tray1 the names of dogs4#aga ,men get named no better4 ,we seem to be distinct ourselves1 never repeated1 and yet we bear no names which express a proportionate distinctness2 they are quite accidental4 ,take away their names1 and you leave men a wild herd1 distinguished only by their individual qualities4 ,it is as if you were to give names in the ,caffre dialect to the individuals in a herd of spring-boks or gnus4 ,we have but few patronymics1 but few ,christian names1 in proportion to the number of us4 ,is it that men ceased to be original when genuine and original names ceased to be given4 ,have we not enough character to establish a new patronymic4 ,methinks it would be some advantage to philosophy if men were named merely in the gross1 as they are known4 ,it would only be necessary to know the genus and1 perchance1 the species and variety1 to know the individual4 ,i will not allow mere names to make distinctions for me1 but still see men in herds for all them4 ,a familiar name cannot make a man less strange to me4 ,it may be given to a savage who retains in secret his own wild title earned in the woods4 ,i see that the neighbor who wears the familiar epithet of ,william or ,edwin takes it off with his jacket4 ,it does not adhere to him when asleep or when in anger1 or aroused by any passion or inspiration4 ,i seem to hear pronounced by some of his kin at such a time his original wild name in some jaw-breaking or else melodious tongue4 ,as the names of the ,poles and ,russians are to us1 so are ours to them4 ,our names are as cheap as the names given to dogs4 ,we know what are dogs' names2 we know what are men's names4 ,sometimes it would be significant and truer1 it would lead to generalization1 it would avoid exaggeration1 to say1 8,there was a man who said or did--10 instead of designating him by some familiar1 but perchance delusive1 name4 ,we hardly believe that every private soldier in a ,roman army had a name of his own4#agb ,it is interesting to see how the names of famous men are repeated1--even of great poets and philosophers4 ,the poet is not known to-day even by his neighbors to be more than a common man4 ,he is perchance the butt of many4 ,the proud farmer looks down on and boorishly ignores him1 or regards him as a loafer who treads down his grass1 but perchance in course of time the poet will have so succeeded that some of the farmer's posterity1 though equally boorish with their ancestor1 will bear the poet's name4 ,the boor names his boy ,homer1 and so succumbs unknowingly to the bard's victorious fame4 ,anything so fine as poetic genius he cannot more directly recognize4 ,the unpoetic farmer names his child ,homer4 ,you have a wild savage in you1 and a savage name is perchance somewhere recorded as yours4#agc ,may #bc4 ,friday4 ,and wilder still there grows elsewhere1 ,i hear1 a native and aboriginal crab-apple1 ,malus 7as ,michaux1 or1 as ,emerson has it1 ,pyrus7 coronaria in ,southern ,states1 and also angustifolia in the ,middle ,states2 whose young leaves 8have a bitter and slightly aromatic taste0 7,michaux71 whose beautiful flowers perfume the air to a great distance4 8,the apples 444 are small1 green1 intensely acid1 and very odoriferous4 ,some farmers make cider of them1 which is said to be excellent3 they make very fine sweet-meats also1 by the addition of a large quantity of sugar0 7,michaux74 ,celebrated for 8the beauty of its flowers1 and for the sweetness of its perfume0 7,michaux74#agd ,michaux says that the wild apple of ,europe has yielded to cultivation nearly three hundred species in ,france alone4 ,emerson says1 referring to ,loudon1 8,in #ahcf1 the catalogue and the gardens of the ,london ,horticultural ,society contained upwards of #adjj distinct sorts1 and new ones are every year added40 ,but here are species which they have not in their catalogue1 not to mention the varieties which the crab might yield to cultivation4#age ,this genus1 so kind to the human race1 the ,malus or ,pyrus2 ,rosace the family1 or others say ,pomace4 ,its flowers are perhaps the most beautiful of any tree4 ,i am frequently compelled to turn and linger by some more than usually beautiful two-thirds-expanded blossoms4#agf ,if such were not so common1 its fame would be loud as well as wide4 ,its most copious and delicious blossoms4 ,but our wild apple is wild perchance like myself1 who belong not to the aboriginal race here1 but have strayed into the woods from the cultivated stock1#agg--where the birds1 where winged thoughts or agents1 have planted or are planting me4 ,even these at length furnish hardy stocks for the orchard4 ,you might call one ,malus oculata2 another ,m4 ,iridis2 ,m4 cum parvuli dmonis oculis1 or ,imp-eyed2 ,blue-,jay ,apple1 or ,m4 corvi cristati2 ,wood-,dell ,apple 7,m4 silvestri-vallis72 ,field-,dell ,apple 7,m4 campestri-vallis72 ,meadow ,apple 7,m4 pratensis72 ,rock ,meadow ,apple 7saxopratensis72 ,partridge or ,grouse ,apple or bud sic2 ,apple of the ,hesperides 7,malus ,hesperidum72 ,woodside ,apple2 ,wood ,apple 7,m4 silvatica72 the ,truant's ,apple 7,m4 cessatoris72 ,saunterer's ,apple 7,m4 erronis vel vagabundi72 the ,wayside ,apple 7,m4 trivialis72 ,beauty of the ,air 7decus aris72 ,december-eating2 ,frozen-thawed 7gelato-soluta or gelata regelata72 the ,concord ,apple 7,m4 ,concordiensis72 the ,brindled ,apple2 ,wine of ,new ,england 7,m4 vinosa72 the ,chickaree ,apple2 the ,green ,apple 7,m4 viridis72 the ,dysentery or ,cholera-morbus ,apple4#agh ,distinctly related things are strangely near in fact1 brush one another with their jackets4 ,perchance this window-seat in which we sit discoursing ,transcendentalism1 with only ,germany and ,greece stretching behind our minds1 was made so deep because this was a few years ago a garrison-house1 with thick log walls1 bullet-proof1 behind which men sat to escape the wild red man's bullet and the arrow and the tomahawk1 and bullets fired by ,indians are now buried in its walls4 ,pythagoras seems near compared with them4 ,may #bd4 ,saturday4 ,our most glorious experiences are a kind of regret4 ,our regret is so sublime that we may mistake it for triumph4 ,it is the painful1 plaintively sad surprise of our ,genius remembering our past lives and contemplating what is possible4 ,it is remarkable that men commonly never refer to1 never hint at1 any crowning experiences when the common laws of their being were unsettled and the divine and eternal laws prevailed in them4 ,their lives are not revolutionary2 they never recognize any other than the local and temporal authorities4 ,it is a regret so divine and inspiring1 so genuine1 based on so true and distinct a contrast1 that it surpasses our proudest boasts and the fairest expectations4 ,my most sacred and memorable life is commonly on awaking in the morning4 ,i frequently awake with an atmosphere about me as if my unremembered dreams had been divine1 as if my spirit had journeyed to its native place1 and1 in the act of rentering its native body1 had diffused an elysian fragrance around4 ,the ,genius says3 8,ah6 ,that is what you were6 ,that is what you may yet be60 ,it is glorious for us to be able to regret even such an existence4 ,a sane and growing man revolutionizes every day4 ,what institutions of man can survive a morning experience8 ,a single night's sleep1 if we have indeed slumbered and forgotten anything and grown in our sleep1 puts them behind us like the river ,lethe4 ,it is no unusual thing for him to see the kingdoms of this world pass away4#agi 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is an interesting inquiry to seek for the medicines which will cure our ails in the plants which grow around us4 ,at first we are not disposed to believe that man and plants are so intimately related4 ,very few plants have been medically examined4 ,and yet this is the extent of most men's botany2 and it is more extensive than would at first be supposed4 ,the botanist is startled by some countryman's familiarity with an obscure plant to him rare and strange4 ,he1 who has been an observer for some years1 knows not what it is1 but the unobserving countryman1 who sees nothing but what is thrust upon him1 or the old woman who rarely goes out of the house1 shows an easy familiarity with it and can call it by name4 ,i am struck by the fact that1 though any important individual experience is rare1 though it is so rare that the individual is conscious of a relation to his maker transcending time and space and earth1 though any knowledge of1 or communication from1 8,providence0 is the rarest thing in the world1 yet men very easily1 regarding themselves in the gross1 speak of carrying out the designs of ,providence as nations4 ,how often the ,saxon man talks of carrying out the designs of ,providence1 as if he had some knowledge of ,providence and ,his designs4 ,men allow themselves to associate ,providence and designs of ,providence with their dull1 prosaic1 every-day thoughts of things4 ,that language is usurped by the stalest and deadest prose1 which can only report the most choice poetic experience4 ,this 8,providence0 is the stalest jest in the universe4 ,the office-boy sweeps out his office 8by the leave of ,providence40 ,may #be4 ,a fine1 freshening air1 a little hazy1 that bathes and washes everything1 saving the day from extreme heat4 ,walked to the hills south of ,wayland by the road by ,deacon ,farrar's4 ,first vista just beyond ,merron's 7871 looking west down a valley1 with a verdant-columned elm at the extremity of the vale and the blue hills and horizon beyond4 ,these are the resting-places in a walk4 ,we love to see any part of the earth tinged with blue1 cerulean1 the color of the sky1 the celestial color4 ,i wonder that houses are not oftener located mainly that they may command particular rare prospects1 every convenience yielding to this4 ,the farmer would never suspect what it was you were buying1 and such sites would be the cheapest of any4 ,a site where you might avail yourself of the art of ,nature for three thousand years1 which could never be materially changed or taken from you1 a noble inheritance for your children4 ,the true sites for human dwellings are unimproved4 ,they command no price in the market4 ,men will pay something to look into a travelling showman's box1 but not to look upon the fairest prospects on the earth4 ,a vista where you have the near green horizon contrasted with the distant blue one1 terrestrial with celestial earth4 ,the prospect of a vast horizon must be accessible in our neighborhood4 ,where men of enlarged views may be educated4 ,an unchangeable kind of wealth1 a real estate4 ,there we found the celandine in blossom and the ,ranunculus bulbosus1 which we afterwards saw double in ,wayland1 having nine petals4 ,the ,pyrus arbutifolia1 variety melanocarpa4 ,gray makes also the variety erythrocarpa4 ,is this the late red choke-berry of the swamps8 and is the former the earlier black one of the swamps8 ,by ,farrar's the ,nepeta ,glechoma1 a kind of mint4 ,linnus calls it ,glechoma hederacea4 ,looks somewhat like catnep4 ,the marsh-marigold1 ,caltha palustris1 improperly called cowslip4 ,the white oak1 ,quercus alba4 ,and the commonest scrub oak1 the bear or black oak1 ,q4 ilicifolia4 ,the chinquapin1 or dwarf chestnut1 oak1 the smallest of our oaks1 ,q4 prinoides4 ,the ,cratgus coccinea 7871 or scarlet-fruited thorn 787 ,another glorious vista with a wide horizon at the yellow ,dutch house1 just over the ,wayland line1 by the black spruce1 heavy and dark as night1 which we could see two or three miles as a landmark4 ,now at least1 before the deciduous trees have fully expanded their leaves1 it is remarkably black4 ,it is more stoutly and irregularly branched than ,holbrook's spruces--has a much darker foliage2 but the cone scales of both are slightly waved or notched4 ,are they1 then1 both black spruce8 ,the cones are enough like1 and the thickness of the leaves2 their color enough unlike4 ,here is a view of the ,jenkins house1 the fish-pole house1 and ,wachusett beyond4 ,noticed what ,i think must be a young poison sumach#ahj abundant by the roadside in woods1 with last year's berries1 with small greenish-yellow flowers1 but leaves not pinnatifid1 three together2 from one to two feet high4 ,what is it8 ,alnus serrulata1 the common alder1 with a grayish stem1 leaves smooth on both sides4 ,alnus incana1 the speckled alder1 downy on under side of leaves4 ,the hard-berried plant seems to be ,andromeda ligustrina 787 of ,gray1 ,a4 paniculata of ,bigelow1 ,lyonia paniculata of ,emerson4 ,thyme-leaved veronica1 little bluish-white1 streak-petalled flower by road sides4 ,silene ,pennsylvanica4 ,what is the orange-yellow aster-like flower of the meadows now in blossom with a sweet-smelling stem when bruised8#aha ,what the delicate pinkish and yellowish flower with hoary-green stem and leaves1 of rocky hills4#ahb ,saw ,bunker ,hill ,monument and ,charlestown from the ,wayland hills1 and across the valleys to ,milton ,hill4#ahc ,westward1 or west by south1 an island in a pond or in the river 76which see67 ,a grand horizon4 ,probably saw the elm between ,wayland and ,weston which is seen so far in the horizon from the northwest part of ,sudbury4 ,a good1 a rare place this must be to view the ,sudbury or ,wayland meadows a little earlier4 ,came back across lots to the black spruce4 ,now1 at #h4cj o'clock ,p4 ,m41 ,i hear the dreaming of the frogs4#ahd ,so it seems to me1 and so significantly passes my life away4 ,it is like the dreaming of frogs in a summer evening4 ,may #bg4 ,i saw an organ-grinder this morning before a rich man's house1 thrilling the street with harmony1 loosening the very paving-stones and tearing the routine of life to rags and tatters1 when the lady of the house shoved up a window and in a semiphilanthropic tone inquired if he wanted anything to eat4 ,but he1 very properly it seemed to me1 kept on grinding and paid no attention to her question1 feeding her ears with melody unasked for4 ,so the world shoves up its window and interrogates the poet1 and sets him to gauging ale casks in return4 ,it seemed to me that the music suggested that the recompense should be as fine as the gift4 ,it would be much nobler to enjoy the music1 though you paid no money for it1 than to presume always a beggarly relation4 ,it is after all1 perhaps1 the best instrumental music that we have4 ,may #bh4 ,the trees now begin to shade the streets4 ,when the sun gets high in the sky the trees give shade4 ,with oppressive heats come refreshing shadows4 ,the buttercups spot the churchyard4 ,may #bi4 ,it is evident that the virtues of plants are almost completely unknown to us1 and we esteem the few with which we are better acquainted unreasonably above the many which are comparatively unknown to us4 ,bigelow says3 8,it is a subject of some curiosity to consider1 if the knowledge of the present ,materia ,medica were by any means to be lost1 how many of the same articles would again rise into notice and use4 ,doubtless a variety of new substances would develop unexpected powers1 while perhaps the poppy would be shunned as a deleterious plant1 and the cinchona might grow unmolested upon the mountains of ,quito40 ,sawyer regards ,nux vomica among the most valuable4 ,b4 says 7#ahag73 8,we have yet to discover our anodynes and our emetics1 although we abound in bitters1 astringents1 aromatics1 and demulcents4 ,in the present state of our knowledge we could not well dispense with opium and ipecacuanha1 yet a great number of foreign drugs1 such as gentian1 columbo1 chamomile1 kino1 catechu1 cascarilla1 canella1 etc41 for which we pay a large annual tax to other countries1 might in all probability be superseded by the indigenous products of our own4 ,it is certainly better that our own country people should have the benefit of collecting such articles1 than that we should pay for them to the ,moors of ,africa1 or the ,indians of ,brazil40 ,the thorn-apple 7,datura ,stramonium7 7apple of ,peru1 devil's-apple1 ,jamestown-weed7 8emigrates with great facility1 and often springs up in the ballast of ships1 and in earth carried from one country to another40 ,it secretes itself in the hold of vessels and migrates4 ,it is a sort of cosmopolitan weed1 a roving weed4 ,what adventures6 ,what historian knows when first it came into a country6 ,he quotes ,beverly's 8,history of ,virginia0 as saying that some soldiers in the days of ,bacon's rebellion1 having eaten some of this plant1 which was boiled for salad by mistake1 were made natural fools and buffoons by it for eleven days1 without injury to their bodies 78 874 ,the root of a biennial or perennial will accumulate the virtues of the plant more than any other part4 ,b4 says that ,pursh states that the sweet-scented goldenrod 7,solidago odora7 8has for some time i4 e4 before #ahagahe been an article of exportation to ,china1 where it fetches a high price40 ,and yet it is known to very few ,new-,englanders4 8,no botanist10 says ,b41 8even if in danger of starving in a wilderness1 would indulge his hunger on a root or fruit taken from an unknown plant of the natural order ,lurid1 of the ,multisiliqu1 or the umbelliferous aquatics4 ,on the contrary he would not feel a moment's hesitation in regard to any of the ,gramina1 the fruit of the ,pomace and several other natural families of plants1 which are known to be uniformly innocent in their effects40 ,the aromatic flavor of the checkerberry is also perceived in the ,gaultheria hispidula1 in ,spira ulmaria and the root of ,spira lobata1 and in the birches4 ,he says ginseng1 spigelia1 snake-root1 etc41 form considerable articles of exportation4 ,the odor of skunk-cabbage is perceived in some ,north ,american currants1 as ,ribes rigens of ,michaux on high mountains4 ,at one time the ,indians about ,quebec and ,montreal were so taken up with searching for ginseng that they could not be hired for any other purpose4 ,it is said that both the ,chinese and the ,indians named this plant from its resemblance to the figure of a man4#ahf ,the ,indians use the bark of ,dirca palustris1 or leather-wood1 for their cordage4 ,it was after the long-continued search of many generations that these qualities were discovered4 ,of tobacco 7,nicotiana ,tabacum7 ,b4 says1 after speaking of its poisonous qualities3 8,yet the first person who had courage and patience enough to persevere in its use1 until habit had overcome his original disgust1 eventually found in it a pleasing sedative1 a soother of care1 and a material addition to the pleasures of life4 ,its use1 which originated among savages1 has spread into every civilized country2 it has made its way against the declamations of the learned1 and the prohibitions of civil and religious authority1 and it now gives rise to an extensive branch of agriculture1 or of commerce1 in every part of the globe40 ,soon after its introduction into ,europe1 8the rich indulged in it as a luxury of the highest kind2 and the poor gave themselves up to it1 as a solace for the miseries of life40 ,several varieties are cultivated4 ,in return for many foreign weeds1 we have sent abroad1 says ,b41 8the ,erigeron ,canadensis and the prolific families of ,ambrosia and ,amaranthus40 8,the ,indians were acquainted with the medicinal properties of more than one species of ,euphorbia40 ,i noticed the button-bush1 ,may #beth1 around an elevated pond or mud-hole1 its leaves just beginning to expand4 ,this slight amount of green contrasted with its dark1 craggly sic1 naked-looking stem and branches--as if subsiding waters had left them bare--looked ,dantesque and infernal4 ,it is not a handsome bush at this season1 it is so slow to put out its leaves and hide its naked and unsightly stems4 ,the ,andromeda ligustrina is late to leave out4 ,malus excelsa2 amara2 florida2 palustris2 gratissima2 ramosa2 spinosa2 ferruginea2 aromatica2 aurea2 rubiginosa2 odorata2 tristis2 officinalis66 herbacea2 vulgaris2 stivalis2 autumnalis2 riparia2 versicolor2 communis2 farinosa2 super septa pendens2#ahg ,malus sepium2 vinum ,nov-,angli2 succosa2 spe formicis proccupata2 vermiculosa aut verminosa aut a vermibus corrupta vel erosa2 ,malus semper virens et viridis2 cholera-morbifera or dysenterifera2 ,m4 sylvestripaludosa1 excelsa et ramosa superne1 difficilis conscendere1 7fructus difficillimus stringere1 parvus et durus72 ,cortex picis perforata or perterebata2 rupestris2 agrestis2 arvensis2 ,assabettia2 ,railroad ,apple2 ,musketaquidensis2 ,dew ,apple 7rorifera72 the apple whose fruit we tasted in our youth which grows passim et nusquam1 7,malus cujus fructum ineunte tate gustavi qu passim et nusquam viget72 our own particular apple2 ,malus numquam legata vel stricta2 cortice muscos2 ,malus vi-ferre2 sylvatica in sylvis densissimis4#ahh ,may #cj4 ,friday4 ,there was a ,concord man once who had a foxhound named ,burgoyne4 ,he called him ,bugne4 ,a good name4#ahi ,may #ca4 ,pedestrium solatium in apricis locis2 nodosa4#aij ,v ,,june1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc7 ,june #c4 ,tuesday4 ,lectured in ,worcester last ,saturday1 and walked to ,as- or ,hasnebumskit ,hill in ,paxton the next day4 ,said to be the highest land in ,worcester ,county except ,wachusett4 ,met ,mr4 ,blake1 ,brown1 ,chamberlin1 ,hinsdale1 ,miss ,butman 7871 ,wyman1 ,conant4 ,returned to ,boston yesterday4 ,conversed with ,john ,downes1 who is connected with the ,coast ,survey1 is printing tables for astronomical1 geodesic1 and other uses4 ,he tells me that he once saw the common sucker in numbers piling up stones as big as his fist 7like the piles which ,i have seen71 taking them up or moving them with their mouths4 ,dr4 ,harris suggests that the mountain cranberry which ,i saw at ,ktaadn was the ,vaccinium ,vitis-,ida1 cow-berry1 because it was edible and not the ,uva-,ursi1 or bear-berry1 which we have in ,concord4 ,saw the ,uvularia perfoliata1 perfoliate bellwort1 in ,worcester near the hill2 an abundance of mountain laurel on the hills1 now budded to blossom and the fresh lighter growth contrasting with the dark green2 an abundance of very large checkerberries1 or partridge-berries1 as ,bigelow calls them1 on ,hasnebumskit4 ,sugar maples about there4 ,a very extensive view1 but the western view not so much wilder as ,i expected4 ,see ,barre1 about fifteen miles off1 and ,rutland1 etc41 etc4 ,not so much forest as in our neighborhood2 high1 swelling hills1 but less shade for the walker4 ,the hills are green1 the soil springier2 and it is written that water is more easily obtained on the hill than in the valleys4 ,saw a ,scotch fir1 the pine so valued for tar and naval uses in the north of ,europe4 ,mr4 ,chamberlin told me that there was no corporation in ,worcester except the banks 7which ,i suspect may not be literally true71 and hence their freedom and independence4 ,i think it likely there is a gas company to light the streets at least4 ,john ,mactaggart finds the ice thickest not in the largest lakes in ,canada1 nor in the smallest1 where the surrounding forests melt it4 ,he says that the surveyor of the boundary-line between ,england and ,united ,states on the ,columbia ,river saw pine trees which would require sixteen feet in the blade to a cross-cut saw to do anything with them4 ,i examined to-day a large swamp white oak in ,hubbard's meadow1 which was blown down by the same storm which destroyed the lighthouse4 ,at five feet from the ground it was nine and three fourths feet in circumference2 the first branch at eleven and a half feet from ground2 and it held its size up to twenty-three feet from the ground4 ,its whole height1 measured on the ground1 was eighty feet1 and its breadth about sixty-six feet4 ,the roots on one side were turned up with the soil on them1 making an object very conspicuous a great distance off1 the highest root being eighteen feet from the ground and fourteen feet above centre of trunk4 ,the roots1 which were small and thickly interlaced1 were from three to nine inches beneath the surface 7in other trees ,i saw them level with the surface7 and thence extended fifteen to eighteen inches in depth 7i4 e4 to this depth they occupied the ground74 ,they were broken off at about eleven feet from the centre of the trunk and were there on an average one inch in diameter1 the largest being three inches in diameter4 ,the longest root was broken off at twenty feet from the centre1 and was there three quarters of an inch in diameter4 ,the tree was rotten within4 ,the lower side of the soil 7what was originally the lower71 which clothed the roots for nine feet from the centre of the tree1 was white and clayey to appearance1 and a sparrow was sitting on three eggs within the mass4 ,directly under where the massive trunk had stood1 and within a foot of the surface1 you could apparently strike in a spade and meet with no obstruction to a free cultivation4 ,there was no taproot to be seen4 ,the roots were encircled with dark1 nubby rings4 ,the tree1 which still had a portion of its roots in the ground and held to them by a sliver on the leeward side1 was alive and had leaved out1 though on many branches the leaves were shrivelled again4 ,quercus bicolor of ,bigelow1 ,q4 ,prinus discolor ,mx4 f4 ,illustration ,i observed the grass waving to-day for the first time1--the swift ,camilla on it4 ,it might have been noticed before4 ,you might have seen it now for a week past on grain-fields4 ,clover has blossomed4 ,i noticed the indigo-weed a week or two ago pushing up like asparagus4 ,methinks it must be the small andromeda 7871 that dull red mass of leaves in the swamp1 mixed perchance with the rhodora1 with its dry fruitlike appendages1 as well as the ,andromeda paniculata1 else called ligustrina1 and the clethra4 ,it was the golden senecio 7,senecio aureus7 which ,i plucked a week ago in a meadow in ,wayland4 ,the earliest1 methinks1 of the aster and autumnal-looking yellow flowers4 ,its bruised stems enchanted me with their indescribable sweet odor1 like ,i cannot think what4 ,the ,phaseolus vulgaris includes several kinds of bush beans1 of which those ,i raised were one4 ,june #f4 ,friday4 ,gathered last night the strong1 rank1 penetrating-scented angelica4 ,under the head of the ,cicuta maculata1 or ,american hemlock1--8,it is a rule sanctioned by the observations of medical botanists1 that umbelliferous plants1 which grow in or about the water1 are of a poisonous nature40#aia ,he does not say that the angelica is poisonous1 but ,i suppose that it is4 ,it has such a rank1 offensive1 and killing odor as makes me think of the ingredients of the witches' cauldron4 ,it did not leave my hands1 which had carried it1 long after ,i had washed them4 ,a strong1 penetrating1 lasting1 and sickening odor4 ,gathered to-night the ,cicuta maculata1 ,american hemlock1 the veins of the leaflets ending in the notches and the root fasciculated4 ,bigelow says1 8,the leaves of the ,solidago odora have a delightfully fragrant odor1 partaking of that of anise and sassafras1 but different from either40#aib ,june #g4 ,my practicalness is not to be trusted to the last4 ,to be sure1 ,i go upon my legs for the most part1 but1 being hard-pushed and dogged by a superficial common sense which is bound to near objects by beaten paths1 ,i am off the handle1 as the phrase is1--,i begin to be transcendental and show where my heart is4 ,i am like those guinea-fowl which ,charles ,darwin saw at the ,cape de ,verd ,islands4 ,he says1 8,they avoided us like partridges on a rainy day in ,september1 running with their heads cocked up2 and if pursued1 they readily took to the wing40 ,keep your distance1 do not infringe on the interval between us1 and ,i will pick up lime and lay real terrestrial eggs for you1 and let you know by cackling when ,i have done it4 ,when ,i have been asked to speak at a temperance meeting1 my answer has been1 8,i am too transcendental to serve you in your way40 ,they would fain confine me to the rum-sellers and rum-drinkers1 of whom ,i am not one1 and whom ,i know little about4 ,it is a certain faeryland where we live4 ,you may walk out in any direction over the earth's surface1 lifting your horizon1 and everywhere your path1 climbing the convexity of the globe1 leads you between heaven and earth1 not away from the light of the sun and stars and the habitations of men4 ,i wonder that ,i ever get five miles on my way1 the walk is so crowded with events and phenomena4 ,how many questions there are which ,i have not put to the inhabitants6 ,but how far can you carry your practicalness8 ,how far does your knowledge really extend8 ,when ,i have read in deeds only a hundred years old the words 8to enjoy and possess1 he and his assigns1 forever10 ,i have seen how short-sighted is the sense which conducts from day to day4 ,when ,i read the epitaphs of those who died a century ago1 they seem deader even than they expected4 ,a day seems proportionally a long part of your 8forever and a day40 ,there are few so temperate and chaste that they can afford to remind us even at table that they have a palate and a stomach4 ,we believe that the possibility of the future far exceeds the accomplishment of the past4 ,we review the past with the common sense1 but we anticipate the future with transcendental senses4 ,in our sanest moments we find ourselves naturally expecting or prepared for far greater changes than any which we have experienced within the period of distinct memory1 only to be paralleled by experiences which are forgotten4 ,perchance there are revolutions which create an interval impassable to the memory4 ,with reference to the near past1 we all occupy the region of common sense1 but in the prospect of the future we are1 by instinct1 transcendentalists4 ,we affirm that all things are possible1 but only these things have been to our knowledge4 ,i do not even infer the future from what ,i know of the past4 ,i am hardly better acquainted with the past than with the future4 ,what is new to the individual may be familiar to the experience of his race4 ,it must be rare indeed that the experience of the individual transcends that of his race4 ,it will be perceived that there are two kinds of change1--that of the race1 and that of the individual within the limits of the former4 99 99 99 99 99 ,one of those gentle1 straight-down rainy days1 when the rain begins by spotting the cultivated fields as if shaken from a pepper-box2 a fishing day1 when ,i see one neighbor after another1 having donned his oil-cloth suit1 walking or riding past with a fish-pole1 having struck work1--a day and an employment to make philosophers of them all4 99 99 99 99 99 ,when introduced to high life ,i cannot help perceiving how it is as a thing jumped at1 and ,i find that ,i do not get on in my enjoyment of the fine arts which adorn it1 because my attention is wholly occupied with the jump1 remembering that the greatest genuine leap on record1 due to human muscles alone1 is that of certain wandering ,arabs who cleared twenty-five feet on level ground4 ,the first question which ,i am tempted to put to the proprietor of such great impropriety is1 8,who boosts you80 ,are you one of the ninety-nine who fail or the hundredth1 who succeeds8 ,june #h4 ,sunday4 ,in ,f4 ,a4 ,michaux's1 i4 e4 the younger ,michaux's1 8,voyage l'ouest des ,monts ,allghanys1 #ahjb10 printed at ,paris1 #ahjh3-- ,he says the common inquiry in the newly settled ,west was1 8#8,from what part of the world have you come8' ,as if these vast and fertile regions would naturally be the point of union 7runion1 meeting7 and the common country of all the inhabitants of the globe40#aic ,the current of the ,ohio is so swift in the spring that it is not necessary to row4 ,indeed rowing would do more harm than good1 since it would tend to turn the ark out of the current on to some isle or sand-bar1 where it would be entangled amid floating trees4 ,this has determined the form of the bateaux1 which are not the best calculated for swiftness but to obey the current4 ,they are from fifteen to fifty feet long by ten to twelve and fifteen1 with square ends1 and roof of boards like a house at one end4 ,the sides are about four and a half feet above the water4 8,i was alone on the shore of the ,monongahela1 when ,i perceived1 for the first time1 in the distance1 five or six of these bateaux which were descending this river4 ,i could not conceive what those great square boxes were1 which1 abandoned to the current1 presented alternately their ends1 their sides1 and even 7or also 7871 et mme7 their angles4 ,as they came nearer1 ,i heard a confused noise but without distinguishing anything1 on account of the elevation of the sides4 ,it was only on ascending the bank of the river that ,i perceived1 in these bateaux1 many families carrying with them their horses1 cows1 poultry1 dismounted carts 7charrettes71 plows1 harnesses1 beds1 agricultural implements1 in short all that constitute the movables of a household 7mnage7 and the carrying on 7exploitation7 of a farm40 ,but he was obliged to paddle his log canoe 8sans cesse0 because of the sluggishness of the current of the ,ohio in ,april1 #ahjb4 ,a ,vermonter told him that the expense of clearing land in his ,state was always defrayed by the potash obtained from the ashes of the trees which were burnt1 and sometimes people took land to clear on condition that they should have what potash they could make4 ,after travelling more than three thousand miles in ,north ,america1 he says that no part is to be compared for the 8force vgtative des forts0 to the region of the ,ohio between ,wheeling and ,marietta4 ,thirty-six miles above the last place he measured a plane tree on the bank of the ,ohio which1 at four feet from the ground1 was forty-seven in circumference4 ,it is true it was 8renfl d'une manire prodigieuse40 ,tulip and plane trees1 his father had said1 attained the greatest diameter of ,north ,american trees4 ,ginseng was then the only 8territorial0 production of ,kentucky which would pay the expense of transportation by land to ,philadelphia4 ,they collected it from spring to the first frosts4 ,even hunters carried for this purpose1 beside their guns1 a bag and a little 8pioche40 ,from twenty-five to thirty 8milliers pesant0 were then transported annually1 and this commerce was on the increase4 ,some transported it themselves from ,kentucky to ,china1 i4 e4 without selling it to the merchants of the seaboard4 ,traders in ,kentucky gave twenty to twenty-four 8sous0 the pound for it4 ,they habituated their wild hogs to return to the house from time to time by distributing corn for them once or twice a week4 ,so ,i read that in ,buenos ,ayres they collect the horses into the corral twice a week to keep them tame in a degree4 99 99 99 99 99 ,gathered the first strawberries to-day4 ,observed on ,fair ,haven a tall pitch pine1 such as some call yellow pine1--very smooth1 yellowish1 and destitute of branches to a great height4 ,the outer and darker-colored bark appeared to have scaled off1 leaving a fresh and smooth surface4 ,at the ground1 all round the tree1 ,i saw what appeared to be the edges of the old surface scales1 extending to two inches more in thickness4 ,the bark was divided into large1 smooth plates1 one to two feet long and four to six inches wide4 ,i noticed that the cellular portion of the bark of the canoe birch log from which ,i stripped the epidermis a week or two ago was turned a complete brick-red color very striking to behold and reminding me of the red man and all strong1 natural things1--the color of our blood somewhat4 ,under the epidermis it was still a sort of buff4 ,the different colors of the various parts of this bark1 at various times1 fresh or stale1 are extremely agreeable to my eye4 ,i found the white-pine-top full of staminate blossom-buds not yet fully grown or expanded1 with a rich red tint like a tree full of fruit1 but ,i could find no pistillate blossom4 ,the fugacious-petalled cistus1 and the pink1 and the lupines of various tints are seen together4 ,our outside garments1 which are often thin and fanciful and merely for show1 are our epidermis1 hanging loose and fantastic like that of the yellow birch1 which may be cast off without harm1 stripped off here and there without fatal injury2 sometimes called cuticle and false skin4 ,the vital principle wholly wanting in it2 partakes not of the life of the plant4 ,our thicker and more essential garments are our cellular integument4 ,when this is removed1 the tree is said to be girdled and dies4 ,our shirt is the cortex1 liber1 or true bark1 beneath which is found the alburnum or sap-wood1 while the heart in old stocks is commonly rotten or has disappeared4 ,as if we grew like trees1 and were of the exogenous kind4 ,june #i4 ,james ,wood1 ,senior1 told me to-day that ,asa 787 ,melvin's father told him that he had seen alewives caught 7many of them7 in the meadow which we were crossing1 on the west of ,bateman's ,pond1 where now there is no stream1 and though it is wet you can walk everywhere2 also one shad4 ,he thinks that a great part of the meadow once belonged to the pond4 ,gathered the ,linna borealis4 ,june #aa4 ,wednesday4 ,last night a beautiful summer night1 not too warm1 moon not quite full1 after two or three rainy days4 ,walked to ,fair ,haven by railroad1 returning by ,potter's pasture and ,sudbury road4 ,i feared at first that there would be too much white light1 like the pale remains of daylight1 and not a yellow1 gloomy1 dreamier light2 that it would be like a candlelight by day2 but when ,i got away from the town and deeper into the night1 it was better4 ,i hear whip-poor-wills1 and see a few fireflies in the meadow4 ,i saw by the shadows cast by the inequalities of the clayey sand-bank in the ,deep ,cut that it was necessary to see objects by moonlight as well as sunlight1 to get a complete notion of them4 ,this bank had looked much more flat by day1 when the light was stronger1 but now the heavy shadows revealed its prominences4 ,the prominences are light1 made more remarkable by the dark shadows which they cast4 ,when ,i rose out of the ,deep ,cut into the old pigeon-place field1 ,i rose into a warmer stratum of air1 it being lighter4 ,it told of the day1 of sunny noontide hours1--an air in which work had been done1 which men had breathed4 ,it still remembered the sunny banks1--of the laborer wiping his brow1 of the bee humming amid flowers1 the hum of insects4 ,here is a puff of warmer air which has taken its station on the hills2 which has come up from the sultry plains of noon4#aid ,i hear the nighthawks uttering their squeaking notes high in the air now at nine o'clock ,p4 ,m41 and occasionally--what ,i do not remember to have heard so late--their booming note4 ,it sounds more as if under a cope than by day4 ,the sound is not so fugacious1 going off to be lost amid the spheres1 but is echoed hollowly to earth1 making the low roof of heaven vibrate4 ,such a sound is more confused and dissipated by day4 ,the whip-poor-will suggests how wide asunder are the woods and the town4 ,its note is very rarely heard by those who live on the street1 and then it is thought to be of ill omen4 ,only the dwellers on the outskirts of the village hear it occasionally4 ,it sometimes comes into their yards4 ,but go into the woods in a warm night at this season1 and it is the prevailing sound4 ,i hear now five or six at once4 ,it is no more of ill omen therefore here than the night and the moonlight are4 ,it is a bird not only of the woods1 but of the night side of the woods4 ,new beings have usurped the air we breathe1 rounding ,nature1 filling her crevices with sound4 ,to sleep where you may hear the whip-poor-will in your dreams6 ,i hear from this upland1 from which ,i see ,wachusett by day1 a wagon crossing one of the bridges4 ,i have no doubt that in some places to-night ,i should be sure to hear every carriage which crossed a bridge over the river within the limits of ,concord1 for in such an hour and atmosphere the sense of hearing is wonderfully assisted and asserts a new dignity1 and we become the ,hearalls of the story4 ,the late traveller cannot drive his horse across the distant bridge1 but this still and resonant atmosphere tells the tale to my ear4 ,circumstances are very favorable to the transmission of such a sound4 ,in the first place1 planks so placed and struck like a bell swung near the earth emit a very resonant and penetrating sound2 add that the bell is1 in this instance1 hung over water1 and that the night air1 not only on account of its stillness1 but perhaps on account of its density1 is more favorable to the transmission of sound4 ,if the whole town were a raised planked floor1 what a din there would be6 ,i hear some whip-poor-wills on hills1 others in thick wooded vales1 which ring hollow and cavernous1 like an apartment or cellar1 with their note4 ,as when ,i hear the working of some artisan from within an apartment4 ,i now descend round the corner of the grain-field1 through the pitch pine wood into a lower field1 more inclosed by woods1 and find myself in a colder1 damp and misty atmosphere1 with much dew on the grass4 ,i seem to be nearer to the origin of things4 ,there is something creative and primal in the cool mist4 ,this dewy mist does not fail to suggest music to me1 unaccountably2 fertility1 the origin of things4 ,an atmosphere which has forgotten the sun1 where the ancient principle of moisture prevails4 ,it is laden with the condensed fragrance of plants and1 as it were1 distilled in dews4 ,the woodland paths are never seen to such advantage as in a moonlight night1 so embowered1 still opening before you almost against expectation as you walk2 you are so completely in the woods1 and yet your feet meet no obstacles4 ,it is as if it were not a path1 but an open1 winding passage through the bushes1 which your feet find4 ,now ,i go by the spring1 and when ,i have risen to the same level as before1 find myself in the warm stratum again4 ,the woods are about as destitute of inhabitants at night as the streets4 ,in both there will be some night-walkers4 ,there are but few wild creatures to seek their prey4 ,the greater part of its inhabitants have retired to rest4 ,ah1 that life that ,i have known6 ,how hard it is to remember what is most memorable6 ,we remember how we itched1 not how our hearts beat4 ,i can sometimes recall to mind the quality1 the immortality1 of my youthful life1 but in memory is the only relation to it4 ,the very cows have now left their pastures and are driven home to their yards4 ,i meet no creature in the fields4 ,i hear the night-warbler#aie breaking out as in his dreams1 made so from the first for some mysterious reason4 ,our spiritual side takes a more distinct form1 like our shadow which we see accompanying us4 ,i do not know but ,i feel less vigor at night2 my legs will not carry me so far2 as if the night were less favorable to muscular exertion1--weakened us1 somewhat as darkness turns plants pale4 ,but perhaps my experience is to be referred to being already exhausted by the day1 and ,i have never tried the experiment fairly4 ,yet sometimes after a hard day's work ,i have found myself unexpectedly vigorous4 ,it was so hot summer before last that the ,irish laborers on the railroad worked by night instead of day for a while1 several of them having been killed by the heat and cold water4 ,i do not know but they did as much work as ever by day4 ,yet methinks ,nature would not smile on such labors4 ,only the ,hunter's and ,harvest moons are famous1 but ,i think that each full moon deserves to be and has its own character well marked4 ,one might be called the ,midsummer-,night ,moon4 ,the wind and water are still awake4 ,at night you are sure to hear what wind there is stirring4 ,the wind blows1 the river flows1 without resting4 ,there lies ,fair ,haven ,lake1 undistinguishable from fallen sky4 ,the pines seem forever foreign1 at least to the civilized man1--not only their aspect but their scent1 and their turpentine4 ,so still and moderate is the night6 ,no scream is heard1 whether of fear or joy4 ,no great comedy nor tragedy is being enacted4 ,the chirping of crickets is the most universal1 if not the loudest1 sound4 ,there is no ,french ,revolution in ,nature1 no excess4 ,she is warmer or colder by a degree or two4 ,by night no flowers1 at least no variety of colors4 ,the pinks are no longer pink2 they only shine faintly1 reflecting more light4 ,instead of flowers underfoot1 stars overhead4 ,my shadow has the distinctness of a second person1 a certain black companion bordering on the imp1 and ,i ask1 8,who is this80 which ,i see dodging behind me as ,i am about to sit down on a rock4 ,no one1 to my knowledge1 has observed the minute differences in the seasons4 ,hardly two nights are alike4 ,the rocks do not feel warm to-night1 for the air is warmest2 nor does the sand particularly4 ,a book of the seasons1 each page of which should be written in its own season and out-of-doors1 or in its own locality wherever it may be4 ,when you get into the road1 though far from the town1 and feel the sand under your feet1 it is as if you had reached your own gravel walk4 ,you no longer hear the whip-poor-will1 nor regard your shadow1 for here you expect a fellow-traveller4 ,you catch yourself walking merely4 ,the road leads your steps and thoughts alike to the town4 ,you see only the path1 and your thoughts wander from the objects which are presented to your senses4 ,you are no longer in place4 ,it is like conformity1--walking in the ways of men4 ,in ,charles ,darwin's 8,voyage of a ,naturalist round the ,world10 commenced in #ahca3-- ,he gave to ,ehrenberg some of an impalpably fine dust which filled the air at sea near the ,cape de ,verd ,islands1 and he found it to consist in great part of 8infusoria with siliceous shields1 and of the siliceous tissue of plants20 found in this sixty-seven different organic forms4 ,the infusoria with two exceptions inhabitants of fresh water4 ,vessels have even run on shore owing to the obscurity4 ,is seen a thousand miles from ,africa4 ,darwin found particles of stone above a thousandth of an inch square4 ,speaking of ,st4 ,paul's ,rocks1 ,lat4 #eh ,n41 ,long4 #bi #ae ,w41 8,not a single plant1 not even a lichen1 grows on this islet2 yet it is inhabited by several insects and spiders4 ,the following list completes1 ,i believe1 the terrestrial fauna3 a fly 7,olfersia7 living on the booby1 and a tick which must have come here as a parasite on the birds2 a small brown moth1 belonging to a genus that feeds on feathers2 a beetle 7,quedius71 and a woodlouse from beneath the dung2 and lastly numerous spiders1 which ,i suppose prey on these small attendants and scavengers of the waterfowl4 ,the often-repeated description of the stately palm and other noble tropical plants1 then birds1 and lastly man1 taking possession of the coral islets as soon as formed1 in the ,pacific1 is probably not quite correct2 ,i fear it destroys the poetry of this story1 that feather and dirt-feeding and parasitic insects and spiders should be the first inhabitants of newly-formed oceanic land40 ,at ,bahia or ,san ,salvador1 ,brazil1 took shelter under a tree 8so thick that it would never have been penetrated by common ,english rain10 but not so there4 ,of a partridge near the mouth of the ,plata1 8,a man on horseback1 by riding round and round in a circle1 or rather in a spire1 so as to approach closer each time1 may knock on the head as many as he pleases40 ,refers to ,hearne's ,journey1 page #chc1 for 8,in ,arctic ,north ,america the ,indians catch the ,varying ,hare by walking spirally round and round it1 when on its form3 the middle of the day is reckoned the best time1 when the sun is high1 and the shadow of the hunter not very long40 ,in the same place1 8,general ,rosas is also a perfect horseman--an accomplishment of no small consequence in a country where an assembled army elected its general by the following trial3 ,a troop of unbroken horses being driven into a corral1 were let out through a gateway1 above which was a cross-bar3 it was agreed whoever should drop from the bar on one of these wild animals1 as it rushed out1 and should be able1 without saddle or bridle1 not only to ride it1 but also to bring it back to the door of the corral1 should be their general4 ,the person who succeeded was accordingly elected1 and doubtless made a general fit for such an army4 ,this extraordinary feat has also been performed by ,rosas40 ,speaks of the ,gaucho sharpening his knife on the back of the armadillo before he kills him4 ,alcide d',orbigny1 from #ahbe to #ahcc in ,south ,america1 now 7#ahdf7 publishing the results on a scale which places him second to ,humboldt among ,south ,american travellers4 ,hail in ,buenos ,ayres as large as small apples2 killed thirteen deer1 beside ostriches1 which last also it blinded1 etc41 etc4 ,dr4 ,malcomson told him of hail in ,india1 in #ahca1 which 8much injured the cattle40 ,stones flat1 one ten inches in circumference2 passed through windows1 making round holes4 ,a difference in the country about ,montevideo and somewhere else attributed to the manuring and grazing of the cattle4 ,refers to ,atwater as saying that the same thing is observed in the prairies of ,north ,america1 8where coarse grass1 between five and six feet high1 when grazed by cattle1 changes into common pasture land40 7,vide ,atwater's words in ,silliman's ,north ,american ,journal1 vol4 i1 p4 #aag47 ,i would like to read ,azara's ,voyage4 ,speaks#aif of the fennel and the cardoon 7,cynara cardunculus71 introduced from ,europe1 now very common in those parts of ,south ,america4 ,the latter occurs now on both sides the ,cordilleras across the continent4 ,in ,banda ,oriental alone 8very many 7probably several hundred7 square miles are covered by one mass of these prickly plants1 and are impenetrable by man or beast4 ,over the undulating plains1 where these great beds occur1 nothing else can now live4444 ,i doubt whether any case is on record of an invasion on so grand a scale of one plant over the aborigines40 ,horses first landed at the ,la ,plata in #aece4 ,now these1 with cattle and sheep1 have altered the whole aspect of the country1--vegetation1 etc4 8,the wild pig in some parts probably replaces the peccari2 packs of wild dogs may be heard howling on the wooded banks of the less frequented streams2 and the common cat1 altered into a large and fierce animal1 inhabits rocky hills40 ,at sea1 eye being six feet above level1 horizon is two and four fifths miles distant4 8,in like manner1 the more level the plain1 the more nearly does the horizon approach within these narrow limits2 and this1 in my opinion1 entirely destroys that grandeur which one would have imagined that a vast level plain would have possessed40 ,darwin found a tooth of a native horse contemporary with the mastodon1 on the ,pampas of ,buenos ,ayres1 though he says there is good evidence against any horse living in ,america at the time of ,columbus4 ,he speaks of their remains being common in ,north ,america4 ,owen has found ,darwin's tooth similar to one ,lyell brought from the ,united ,states1 but unlike any other1 fossil or living1 and named this ,american horse ,equus curvidens1 from a slight but peculiar curvature in it4 ,the great table-land of southern ,mexico makes the division between ,north and ,south ,america with reference to the migration of animals4 ,quotes ,captain ,owen's 8,surveying ,voyage0 for saying that1 at the town of ,benguela on the west coast of ,africa in a time of great drought1 a number of elephants entered in a body to possess themselves of the wells4 ,after a desperate conflict and the loss of one man1 the inhabitants--three thousand--drove them off4 ,during a great drought in ,india1 says ,dr4 ,malcomson1 8a hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment40 ,the guanacos 7wild llama7 and other animals of this genus have the habit of dropping their dung from day to day in the same heap4 ,the ,peruvian ,indians use it for fuel1 and are thus aided in collecting it4 ,rowing up a stream which takes its rise in a mountain1 you meet at last with pebbles which have been washed down from it1 when many miles distant4 ,i love to think of this kind of introduction to it4 ,the only quadruped native to the ,falkland ,islands is a large wolf-like fox4 ,as far as he is aware1 8there is no other instance in any part of the world of so small a mass of broken land1 distant from a continent1 possessing so large an aboriginal quadruped peculiar to itself40 ,in the ,falkland ,isles1 where other fuel is scarce1 they frequently cook their beef with the bones from which the meat has been scraped4 ,also they have 8a green little bush about the size of common heath1 which has the useful property of burning while fresh and green40 ,saw a cormorant play with its fishy prey as a cat with a mouse1--eight times let it go and dive after it again4 ,seminal propagation produces a more original individual than that by buds1 layers1 and grafts4 ,some inhabitants of ,tierra del ,fuego having got some putrid whale's blubber in time of famine1 8an old man cut off thin slices and muttering over them1 broiled them for a minute1 and distributed them to the famished party1 who during this time preserved a profound silence40 ,this was the only evidence of any religious worship among them4 ,it suggests that even the animals may have something divine in them and akin to revelation1--some inspirations allying them to man as to ,god4 8,nor is it easy to teach them our superiority except by striking a fatal blow4 ,like wild beasts1 they do not appear to compare numbers2 for each individual1 if attacked1 instead of retiring1 will endeavor to dash your brains out with a stone1 as certainly as a tiger under similar circumstances would tear you40 8,we were well clothed1 and though sitting close to the fire1 were far from too warm2 yet these naked savages1 though further off1 were observed1 to our great surprise1 to be streaming with perspiration at undergoing such a roasting40#aig ,ehrenberg examined some of the white paint with which the ,fuegians daub themselves1 and found it to be composed of infusoria1 including fourteen polygastrica1 and four phytolitharia1 inhabitants of fresh water1 all old and known forms66 ,again of the ,fuegians3 8,simple circumstances--such as the beauty of scarlet cloth or blue beads1 the absence of women1 our care in washing ourselves--excited their admiration far more than any grand or complicated object1 such as our ship4 ,bougainville has well remarked concerning these people1 that they treat the #8chef-d'uvres de l'industrie humaine1 comme ils traitent les loix de la nature es ses phnomnes4'0 ,he was informed of a tribe of foot ,indians now changing into horse ,indians apparently in ,patagonia4 8,with the exception of a few berries1 chiefly of a dwarf arbutus1 the natives i4 e4 of ,tierra del ,fuego#aih eat no vegetable food besides this fungus0 7,cyttaria ,darwinii74 ,the 8only country 444 where a cryptogamic plant affords a staple article of food40 ,no reptiles in ,tierra del ,fuego nor in ,falkland ,islands4 ,describes a species of kelp there1--,macrocystis pyrifera4 8,i know few things more surprising than to see this plant growing and flourishing amidst those great breakers of the ,western ,ocean1 which no mass of rock1 let it be ever so hard1 can long resist4444 ,a few stems#aii taken together are sufficiently strong to support the weight of the large loose stones to which1 in the inland channels1 they grow attached2 and yet some of these stones were so heavy that1 when drawn to the surface1 they could scarcely be lifted into a boat by one person40 ,captain ,cook thought that some of it grew to the length of three hundred and sixty feet4 8,the beds of this sea-weed1 even when not of great breadth10 says ,d41 8make excellent natural floating breakwaters4 ,it is quite curious to see1 in an exposed harbor1 how soon the waves from the open sea1 as they travel through the straggling stems1 sink in height1 and pass into smooth water40 ,number of living creatures of all orders whose existence seems to depend on the kelp2 a volume might be written on them4 ,if a forest were destroyed anywhere1 so many species would not perish as if this weed were1 and with the fish would go many birds and larger marine animals1 and hence the ,fuegian himself perchance4 ,tree ferns in ,van ,diemen's ,land 7lat4 #de7 six feet in circumference4 ,missionaries encountered icebergs in ,patagonia in latitude corresponding to the ,lake of ,geneva1 in a season corresponding to ,june in ,europe4 ,in ,europe1 the most southern glacier which comes down to the sea is on coast of ,norway1 latitude #fg1--bj1 or #abcj geographical miles nearer the pole4 ,erratic boulders not observed in the intertropical parts of the world2 due to icebergs or glaciers4 ,under soil perpetually frozen in ,north ,america in #ef at three feet2 in ,siberia in #fb at twelve to fifteen feet4 ,in an excursion from ,valparaiso to the base of the ,andes3 8,we unsaddled our horses near the spring1 and prepared to pass the night4 ,the evening was fine1 and the atmosphere so clear that the masts of the vessels at anchor in the bay of ,valparaiso1 although no less than twenty-six geographical miles distant1 could be distinguished clearly as little black streaks40 ,anson had been surprised at the distance at which his vessels were discovered from the coast without knowing the reason1--the great height of the land and the transparency of the air4 ,floating islands from four to six feet thick in ,lake ,tagua-tagua in central ,chile2 blown about4 ,june #ab4 ,listen to music religiously1 as if it were the last strain you might hear4#bjj ,there would be this advantage in travelling in your own country1 even in your own neighborhood1 that you would be so thoroughly prepared to understand what you saw you would make fewer travellers' mistakes4 ,is not he hospitable who entertains thoughts8 ,june #ac4 ,walked to ,walden last night 7moon not quite full7 by railroad and upland wood-path1 returning by ,wayland road4 ,last full moon the elms had not leaved out1--cast no heavy shadows1--and their outlines were less striking and rich in the streets at night4 ,i noticed night before night before last from ,fair ,haven how valuable was some water by moonlight1 like the river and ,fair ,haven ,pond1 though far away1 reflecting the light with a faint glimmering sheen1 as in the spring of the year4 ,the water shines with an inward light like a heaven on earth4 ,the silent depth and serenity and majesty of water6 ,strange that men should distinguish gold and diamonds1 when these precious elements are so common4 ,i saw a distant river by moonlight1 making no noise1 yet flowing1 as by day1 still to the sea1 like melted silver reflecting the moonlight4 ,far away it lay encircling the earth4 ,how far away it may look in the night1 and even from a low hill how miles away down in the valley6 ,as far off as paradise and the delectable country6 ,there is a certain glory attends on water by night4 ,by it the heavens are related to the earth1 undistinguishable from a sky beneath you4 ,and ,i forgot to say that after ,i reached the road by ,potter's bars1--or further1 by ,potter's ,brook1--,i saw the moon suddenly reflected full from a pool4 ,a puddle from which you may see the moon reflected1 and the earth dissolved under your feet4 ,the magical moon with attendant stars suddenly looking up with mild lustre from a window in the dark earth4 ,i observed also the same night a halo about my shadow in the moonlight1 which ,i referred to the accidentally lighter color of the surrounding surface2 ,i transferred my shadow to the darkest patches of grass1 and saw the halo there equally4 ,it serves to make the outlines of the shadow more distinct4 ,but now for last night4 ,a few fireflies in the meadow4 ,do they shine1 though invisibly1 by day8 ,is their candle lighted by day8 ,it is not nightfall till the whip-poor-wills begin to sing4 ,as ,i entered the ,deep ,cut1 ,i was affected by beholding the first faint reflection of genuine and unmixed moonlight on the eastern sand-bank while the horizon1 yet red with day1 was tingeing the western side4 ,what an interval between those two lights6 ,the light of the moon1--in what age of the world does that fall upon the earth8 ,the moonlight was as the earliest and dewy morning light1 and the daylight tinge reminded me much more of the night4 ,there were the old and new dynasties opposed1 contrasted1 and an interval between1 which time could not span4 ,then is night1 when the daylight yields to the nightlight4 ,it suggested an interval1 a distance not recognized in history4 ,nations have flourished in that light4 ,when ,i had climbed the sand-bank on the left1 ,i felt the warmer current or stratum of air on my cheek1 like a blast from a furnace4 ,the white stems of the pines1 which reflected the weak light1 standing thick and close together while their lower branches were gone1 reminded me that the pines are only larger grasses which rise to a chaffy head1 and we the insects that crawl between them4 ,they are particularly grass-like4 ,how long do the gales retain the heat of the sun8 ,i find them retreated high up the sides of hills1 especially on open fields or cleared places4 ,does1 perchance1 any of this pregnant air survive the dews of night8 ,can any of it be found remembering the sun of yesterday even in the morning hours4 ,does1 perchance1 some puff1 some blast1 survive the night on elevated clearings surrounded by the forest8 ,the bullfrog belongs to summer4 ,the different frogs mark the seasons pretty well1--the peeping hyla1 the dreaming frog1#bja and the bullfrog4 ,i believe that all may be heard at last occasionally together4 ,i heard partridges drumming to-night as late as #i o'clock4 ,what singularly space penetrating and filling sound6 ,why am ,i never nearer to its source8 ,we do not commonly live our life out and full2 we do not fill all our pores with our blood2 we do not inspire and expire fully and entirely enough1 so that the wave1 the comber1 of each inspiration shall break upon our extremest shores1 rolling till it meets the sand which bounds us1 and the sound of the surf come back to us4 ,might not a bellows assist us to breathe8 ,that our breathing should create a wind in a calm day6 ,we live but a fraction of our life4 ,why do we not let on the flood1 raise the gates1 and set all our wheels in motion8 ,he that hath ears to hear1 let him hear4 ,employ your senses4 ,the newspapers tell us of news not to be named even with that in its own kind which an observing man can pick up in a solitary walk1 as if it gained some importance and dignity by its publicness4 ,do we need to be advertised each day that such is still the routine of life8#bjb ,the tree-toad's1 too1 is a summer sound4 ,i hear1 just as the night sets in1 faint notes from time to time from some sparrow 787 falling asleep1--a vesper hymn1--and later1 in the woods1 the chuckling1 rattling sound of some unseen bird on the near trees4 ,the nighthawk booms wide awake4 ,by moonlight we see not distinctly even the surface of the earth1 but our daylight experience supplies us with confidence4 ,as ,i approached the pond down ,hubbard's ,path1 after coming out of the woods into a warmer air1 ,i saw the shimmering of the moon on its surface1 and1 in the near1 now flooded cove1 the water-bugs1 darting1 circling about1 made streaks or curves of light4 ,the moon's inverted pyramid of shimmering light commenced about twenty rods off1 like so much micaceous sand4 ,but ,i was startled to see midway in the dark water a bright flamelike1 more than phosphorescent light crowning the crests of the wavelets1 which at first ,i mistook for fireflies1 and thought even of cucullos4#bjc ,it had the appearance of a pure1 smokeless flame a half-dozen inches long1 issuing from the water and bending flickeringly along its surface4 ,i thought of ,st4 ,elmo's lights and the like4 ,but1 coming near to the shore of the pond itself1 these flames increased1 and ,i saw that even this was so many broken reflections of the moon's disk1 though one would have said they were of an intenser light than the moon herself2 from contrast with the surrounding water they were4 ,standing up close to the shore and nearer the rippled surface1 ,i saw the reflections of the moon sliding down the watery concave like so many lustrous burnished coins poured from a bag with inexhaustible lavishness1 and the lambent flames on the surface were much multiplied1 seeming to slide along a few inches with each wave before they were extinguished2 and ,i saw how farther and farther off they gradually merged in the general sheen1 which1 in fact1 was made up of a myriad little mirrors reflecting the disk of the moon with equal brightness to an eye rightly placed4 ,the pyramid or sheaf of light which we see springing from near where we stand only1 in fact1 is the outline of that portion of the shimmering surface which an eye takes in4 ,to myriad eyes suitably placed1 the whole surface of the pond would be seen to shimmer1 or rather it would be seen1 as the waves turned up their mirrors1 to be covered with those bright flame-like reflections of the moon's disk1 like a myriad candles everywhere issuing from the waves2 i4 e4 if there were as many eyes as angles presented by the waves1 the whole surface would appear as bright as the moon2 and these reflections are dispersed in all directions into the atmosphere1 flooding it with light4 ,no wonder that water reveals itself so far by night2 even further in many states of the atmosphere than by day4 ,i thought at first it was some unusual phosphorescence4 ,in some positions these flames were star-like points1 brighter than the brightest stars4 ,suddenly a flame would show itself in a near and dark space1 precisely like some inflammable gas on the surface1--as if an inflammable gas made its way up from the bottom4 ,i heard my old musical1 simple-noted owl4 ,the sound of the dreaming frogs#bjd prevails over the others4 ,occasionally a bullfrog near me made an obscene noise1 a sound like an eructation1 near me4 ,i think they must be imbodied eructations4 ,they suggest flatulency4 ,the pond is higher than ever1 so as to hinder fishermen1 and ,i could hardly get to the true shore here on account of the bushes4 ,i pushed out in a boat a little and heard the chopping of the waves under its bow4 ,and on the bottom ,i saw the moving reflections of the shining waves1 faint streaks of light revealing the shadows of the waves or the opaqueness of the water4 ,as ,i climbed the hill again toward my old bean-field1 ,i listened to the ancient1 familiar1 immortal1 dear cricket sound under all others1 hearing at first some distinct chirps2 but when these ceased ,i was aware of the general earth-song1 which my hearing had not heard1 amid which these were only taller flowers in a bed1 and ,i wondered if behind or beneath this there was not some other chant yet more universal4 ,why do we not hear when this begins in the spring8 and when it ceases in the fall8 ,or is it too gradual8 ,after ,i have got into the road ,i have no thought to record all the way home1--the walk is comparatively barren4 ,the leafy elm sprays seem to droop more by night 78874 ,june #ad4 ,saturday4 ,full moon last night4 ,set out on a walk to ,conantum at #g ,p4 ,m4 ,a serene evening1 the sun going down behind clouds1 a few white or slightly shaded piles of clouds floating in the eastern sky1 but a broad1 clear1 mellow cope left for the moon to rise into4 ,an evening for poets to describe4 ,met a man driving home his cow from pasture and stopping to chat with his neighbor2 then a boy1 who had set down his pail in the road to stone a bird most perseveringly1 whom ,i heard afterward behind me telling his pail to be quiet in a tone of assumed anger1 because it squeaked under his arm4 ,as ,i proceed along the back road ,i hear the lark still singing in the meadow1 and the bobolink1 and the gold robin on the elms1 and the swallows twittering about the barns4 ,a small bird chasing a crow high in the air1 who is going home at night4 ,all nature is in an expectant attitude4 ,before ,goodwin's house1 at the opening of the ,sudbury road1 the swallows are diving at a tortoise-shell cat1 who curvets and frisks rather awkwardly1 as if she did not know whether to be scared or not4 ,and now1 having proceeded a little way down this road1 the sun having buried himself in the low cloud in the west and hung out his crimson curtains1#bje ,i hear1 while sitting by the wall1 the sound of the stake-driver at a distance1--like that made by a man pumping in a neighboring farmyard1 watering his cattle1 or like chopping wood before his door on a frosty morning1#bjf and ,i can imagine like driving a stake in a meadow4 ,the pumper4 ,i immediately went in search of the bird1 but1 after going a third of a mile1 it did not sound much nearer1 and the two parts of the sound did not appear to proceed from the same place4 ,what is the peculiarity of these sounds which penetrate so far on the keynote of nature8 ,at last ,i got near to the brook in the meadow behind ,hubbard's wood1 but ,i could not tell if it were further or nearer than that4 ,when ,i got within half a dozen rods of the brook1 it ceased1 and ,i heard it no more4 ,i suppose that ,i scared it4 ,as before ,i was further off than ,i thought1 so now ,i was nearer than ,i thought4 ,it is not easy to understand how so small a creature can make so loud a sound by merely sucking in or throwing out water with pump-like lungs4#bjg ,as yet no moon1 but downy piles of cloud scattered here and there in the expectant sky4 ,saw a blue flag blossom in the meadow while waiting for the stake-driver4 ,it was a sound as of gulping water4 ,where my path crosses the brook in the meadow there is a singularly sweet scent in the heavy air bathing the brakes1 where the brakes grow1--the fragrance of the earth1 as if the dew were a distillation of the fragrant essences of nature4 ,when ,i reach the road1 the farmer going home from town invites me to ride in his high-set wagon1 not thinking why ,i walk1 nor can ,i shortly explain4 ,he remarks on the coolness of the weather4 ,the angelica is budded1 a handsome luxuriant plant4 ,and now my senses are captivated again by a sweet fragrance as ,i enter the embowered willow causeway1 and ,i know not if it be from a particular plant or all together1--sweet-scented vernal grass or sweet-briar4 ,now the sun is fairly gone1 ,i hear the dreaming frog1#bjh and the whip-poor-will from some darker wood1--it is not far from eight1--and the cuckoo4 ,the song sparrows sing quite briskly among the willows1 as if it were spring again1 and the blackbird's harsher note resounds over the meadows1 and the veery's comes up from the wood4 ,fishes are dimpling the surface of the river1 seizing the insects which alight4 ,a solitary fisherman in his boat inhabits the scene4 ,as ,i rose the hill beyond the bridge1 ,i found myself in a cool1 fragrant1 dewy1 up-country1 mountain morning air1 a new region4 7,when ,i had issued from the willows on to the bridge1 it was like coming out of night into twilight1 the river reflected so much light47 ,the moon was now seen rising over ,fair ,haven and at the same time reflected in the river1 pale and white like a silvery cloud1 barred with a cloud1 not promising how it will shine anon4 ,now ,i meet an acquaintance coming from a remote field in his hay-rigging1 with a jag of wood2 who reins up to show me how large a woodchuck he has killed1 which he found eating his clover4 ,but now he must drive on1 for behind comes a boy taking up the whole road with a huge roller drawn by a horse1 which goes lumbering and bouncing along1 getting out of the way of night1--while the sun has gone the other way1--and making such a noise as if it had the contents of a tinker's shop in its bowels1 and rolls the whole road smooth like a newly sown grain-field4 ,in ,conant's orchard ,i hear the faint cricket-like song of a sparrow saying its vespers1 as if it were a link between the cricket and the bird4 ,the robin sings now1 though the moon shines silverly1 and the veery jingles its trill4 ,i hear the fresh and refreshing sound of falling water1 as ,i have heard it in ,new ,hampshire4 ,it is a sound we do not commonly hear4 ,i see that the whiteweed is in blossom1 which1 as ,i had not walked by day for some time1 ,i had not seen before4 ,how moderate1 deliberate1 is ,nature6 ,how gradually the shades of night gather and deepen1 giving man ample leisure to bid farewell to-day1 conclude his day's affairs1 and prepare for slumber6 ,the twilight seems out of proportion to the length of the day4 ,perchance it saves our eyes4 ,now for some hours the farmers have been getting home4 ,since the alarm about mad dogs a couple of years ago there are comparatively few left to bark at the traveller and bay the moon4 ,all nature is abandoned to me4 ,you feel yourself--your body1 your legs1--more at night1 for there is less beside to be distinctly known1 and hence perhaps you think yourself more tired than you are4 ,i see indistinctly oxen asleep in the fields1 silent in majestic slumber1 like the sphinx1--statuesque1 ,egyptian1 reclining4 ,what solid rest6 ,how their heads are supported6 ,a sparrow or a cricket makes more noise4 ,from ,conant's summit ,i hear as many as fifteen whip-poor-wills--or whip-or-,i-wills--at once1 the succeeding cluck sounding strangely foreign1 like a hewer at work elsewhere4 ,the moon is accumulating yellow light and triumphing over the clouds1 but still the west is suffused here and there with a slight red tinge1 marking the path of the day4 ,though inexperienced ones might call it night1 it is not yet4 ,dark1 heavy clouds lie along the western horizon1 exhibiting the forms of animals and men1 while the moon is behind a cloud4 ,why do we detect these forms so readily8--whales or giants reclining1 busts of heroes1 ,michael-,angelic4 ,there is the gallery of statuary1 the picture gallery of man1--not a board upon an ,italian's head1 but these dark figures along the horizon1--the board some ,titan carries on his head4 ,what firm and heavy outlines for such soft and light material6 ,how sweet and encouraging it is to hear the sound of some artificial music from the midst of woods or from the top of a hill at night1 borne on the breeze from some distant farmhouse1--the human voice or a flute6 ,that is a civilization one can endure1 worth having4 ,i could go about the world listening for the strains of music4 ,men use this gift but sparingly1 methinks4 ,what should we think of a bird which had the gift of song but used it only once in a dozen years1 like the tree which blossoms only once in a century8 ,now the dorbug comes humming by1 the first ,i have heard this year4 ,in three months it will be the ,harvest ,moon4 ,i cannot easily believe it4 ,why not call this the ,traveller's ,moon8 ,it would be as true to call the last 7the ,may7 the ,planter's ,moon as it is to call ,september's the ,harvest ,moon1 for the farmers use one about as little as the other4 ,perhaps this is the ,whip-poor-will's ,moon4 ,the bullfrog now1 which ,i have not heard before1 this evening4 ,it is nearly nine4 ,they are much less common and their note more intermittent than that of the dreamers4 ,i scared up a bird on a low bush1 perchance on its nest4 ,it is rare that you start them at night from such places4 ,peabody says that the nighthawk retires to rest about the time the whip-poor-will begins its song4 ,the whip-poor-will begins now at #g4cj4 ,i hear the nighthawk after #i o'clock4 ,he says it flies low in the evening1 but it also flies high1 as it must needs do to make the booming sound4 ,i hear the lowing of cows occasionally1 and the barking of dogs4 ,the pond by moonlight1 which may make the object in a walk1 suggests little to be said4 ,where there was only one firefly in a dozen rods1 ,i hastily ran to one which had crawled up to the top of a grass-head and exhibited its light1 and instantly another sailed in to it1 showing its light also2 but my presence made them extinguish their lights4 ,the latter retreated1 and the former crawled slowly down the stem4 ,it appeared to me that the first was a female who thus revealed her place to the male1 who was also making known his neighborhood as he hovered about1 both showing their lights that they might come together4 ,it was like a mistress who had climbed to the turrets of her castle and exhibited there a blazing taper for a signal1 while her lover had displayed his light on the plain4 ,if perchance she might have any lovers abroad4 ,not much before #aj o'clock does the moonlight night begin4 ,when man is asleep and day fairly forgotten1 then is the beauty of moonlight seen over lonely pastures where cattle are silently feeding4#bji ,then let me walk in a diversified country1 of hill and dale1 with heavy woods one side1 and copses and scattered trees and bushes enough to give me shadows4 ,returning1 a mist is on the river4 ,the river is taken into the womb of ,nature again4 ,now is the clover month1 but haying is not yet begun4 99 99 99 99 99 ,evening4--,went to ,nawshawtuct by ,north ,branch4 ,overtaken by a slight shower4 ,the same increased fragrance from the ground--sweet-fern1 etc4--as in the night1 and for the like reason probably4 ,the houstonias still blossom freshly1 as ,i believe they continue to do all summer4 ,the fever-root in blossom2 pictured in ,bigelow's 8,medical ,botany40 ,triosteum perfoliatum1 near the top of ,hill1 under the wall1 looks somewhat like a milkweed4 ,the ,viburnum dentatum1 very regularly toothed1 just ready to blossom2 sometimes called arrow-wood4 ,nature seems not to have designed that man should be much abroad by night1 and in the moon proportioned the light fitly4 ,by the faintness and rareness of the light compared with that of the sun1 she expresses her intention with regard to him4 ,june #ae4 ,sunday4 ,darwin still3-- ,finds runaway sailors on the ,chonos ,archipelago1 who he thought 8had kept a very good reckoning of time10 having lost only four days in fifteen months4 ,near same place1 on the islands of the archipelago1 he found wild potato1 the tallest four feet high1 tubers generally small but one two inches in diameter2 8resembled in every respect1 and had the same smell as ,english potatoes2 but when boiled they shrunk much1 and were watery and insipid1 without any bitter taste40 ,speaking of the surf on the coast of ,chiloe1 8,i was assured that1 after a heavy gale1 the roar can be heard at night even at ,castro1 a distance of no less than twenty-one sea-miles1 across a hilly and wooded country40 ,subsidence and elevation of the west coast of ,south ,america and of the ,cordilleras4 8,daily it is forced home on the mind of the geologist1 that nothing1 not even the wind that blows1 is so unstable as the level of the crust of this earth40 ,would like to see ,sir ,francis ,head's travels in ,south ,america1--,pampas perhaps4#baj ,also ,chambers' 8,sea ,levels40 ,also travels of ,spix and ,von ,martius4 ,it is said that hydrophobia was first known in ,south ,america in #ahjc4 ,at the ,galapagos1 the tortoises going to any place travel night and day and so get there sooner than would be expected1--about eight miles in two or three days4 ,he rode on their backs4 ,the productions of the ,galapagos ,archipelago1 from five to six hundred miles from ,america1 are still of the ,american type4 8,it was most striking to be surrounded by new birds1 new reptiles1 new shells1 new insects1 new plants1 and yet1 by innumerable trifling details of structure1 and even by the tones of voice and plumage of the birds1 to have the temperate plains of ,patagonia1 or the hot1 dry deserts of ,northern ,chile1 vividly brought before my eyes40 ,what is most singular1 not only are the plants1 etc41 to a great extent peculiar to these islands1 but each for the most part has its own kinds1 though they are within sight of each other4 ,birds so tame that they can be killed with a stick4 ,i would suggest that1 from having dealt so long with the inoffensive and slow-moulded tortoise1 they have not yet acquired an instinctive fear of man1 who is a new-comer4 ,methinks tortoises1 lizards1 etc41 for wild creatures are remarkable for the nearness to which man approaches them and handles them1 as logs1--cold-blooded1 lumpish forms of life1--only taking care not to step into their mouths4 ,an alligator has been known to have come out of the mud like a mud volcano where was now the floor of a native's hut4 8,the common dock is 444 widely disseminated1 in ,new ,zealand#baa and will1 ,i fear1 forever remain a proof of the rascality of an ,englishman1 who sold the seeds for those of the tobacco plant40 ,the ,new-,hollanders a little higher in the scale of civilization than the ,fuegians4 ,puzzled by a 8well rounded fragment of greenstone1 rather larger than a man's head10 which a captain had found on a small coral circle or atoll near ,keeling ,island1 8where every other particle of matter is calcareous10 about six hundred miles from ,sumatra4 ,d4 agrees with ,kotzebue 7vide ,kotzebue7 who states that 7,darwin's words7 8the inhabitants of the ,radack ,archipelago1 a group of lagoon-islands in the midst of the ,pacific1 obtained stones for sharpening their instruments by searching the roots of trees which are cast upon the beach10 and 8laws have been established that such stones belong to the chief1 and a punishment is inflicted on any one who attempts to steal them40 ,let geologists look out4 8,some natives carried by ,kotzebue to ,kamtschatka collected stones to take back to their country40 ,found no bottom at #gbjj feet1 and #bbjj yards from shore of ,keeling ,island1 a coral isle4 ,his theory of the formation of coral isles by the subsidence of the land appears probable4 ,he concludes that 8the great continents are1 for the most part1 rising areas2 and 444 the central parts of the great oceans are sinking areas40 ,not a private person on the island of ,ascension2 the inhabitants are paid and victualled by the ,british government4 ,springs1 cisterns1 etc41 are managed by the same4 8,indeed1 the whole island may be compared to a huge ship kept in first-rate order40 ,vide 8,circumnavigation of ,globe up to ,cook40 ,vide 8,voyages ,round the ,world since ,cook40 99 99 99 99 99 ,the author of the article on ,orchids in the ,eclectic says that 8a single plant produced three different flowers of genera previously supposed to be quite distinct40 ,saw the first wild rose to-day on the west side of the railroad causeway4 ,the whiteweed has suddenly appeared1 and the clover gives whole fields a rich and florid appearance1--the rich red and the sweet-scented white4 ,the fields are blushing with the red species as the western sky at evening4 ,the blue-eyed grass1 well named1 looks up to heaven4 ,and the yarrow1 with its persistent dry stalks and heads1 is now ready to blossom again4 ,the dry stems and heads of last year's tansy stand high above the new green leaves4 ,i sit in the shade of the pines to hear a wood thrush at noon4 ,the ground smells of dry leaves2 the heat is oppressive4 ,the bird begins on a low strain1 i4 e4 it first delivers a strain on a lower key1 then a moment after another a little higher1 then another still varied from the others1--no two successive strains alike1 but either ascending or descending4 ,he confines himself to his few notes1 in which he is unrivalled1 as if his kind had learned this and no more anciently4 ,i perceive1 as formerly1 a white froth dripping from the pitch pines1 just at the base of the new shoots4 ,it has no taste4 ,the pollywogs in the pond are now full-tailed4 ,the hickory leaves are blackened by a recent frost1 which reminds me that this is near their northern limit4 ,it is remarkable the rapidity with which the grass grows4 ,the #beth of ,may ,i walked to the hills in ,wayland1 and when ,i returned across lots do not remember that ,i had much occasion to think of the grass1 or to go round any fields to avoid treading on it2 but just a week afterward1 at ,worcester1 it was high and waving in the fields1 and ,i was to some extent confined to the road2 and the same was the case here4 ,apparently in one month you get from fields which you can cross without hesitation1 to haying time4 ,it has grown you hardly know when1 be the weather what it may1 sunshine or storm4 ,i start up a solitary woodcock in the shade1 in some copse2 goes off with a startled1 rattling1 hurried note4 ,after walking by night several times ,i now walk by day1 but ,i am not aware of any crowning advantage in it4 ,i see small objects better1 but it does not enlighten me any4 ,the day is more trivial4 ,what a careful gardener ,nature is6 ,she does not let the sun come out suddenly with all his intensity after rain and cloudy weather1 but graduates the change to suit the tenderness of plants4 ,i see the tall crowfoot now in the meadows 7,ranunculus acris71 with a smooth stem4 ,i do not notice the bulbosus1 which was so common a fortnight ago4 ,the rose-colored flowers of the ,kalmia angustifolia1 lambkill1 just opened and opening4 ,the ,convallaria bifolia growing stale in the woods4 ,the ,hieracium venosum1 veiny-leaved hawkweed1 with its yellow blossoms in the woodland path4 ,the ,hypoxis erecta1 yellow ,bethlehem-star1 where there is a thick1 wiry grass in open paths2 should be called yellow-eyed grass1 methinks4 ,the ,pyrola asarifolia1 with its pagoda-like stem of flowers1 i4 e4 broad-leaved wintergreen4 ,the ,trientalis ,americana1 like last1 in the woods1 with its star-like white flower and pointed whorled leaves4 ,the prunella too is in blossom1 and the rather delicate ,thesium umbellatum1 a white flower4 ,the ,solomon's-seal1 with a greenish drooping raceme of flowers at the top1 ,i do not identify4 ,i notice to-day the same remarkable bushy growth on the fir 7in ,wheildon's garden7 that ,i have noticed on the pines and cedars4 ,the leaves are not so thickly set and are much stiffer4 ,i find that ,i postpone all actual intercourse with my friends to a certain real intercourse which takes place commonly when we are actually at a distance from one another4 ,june #bb4 ,sunday4 ,is the shrub with yellow blossoms which ,i found last week near the ,lincoln road while surveying for ,e4 ,hosmer and thought to be ,xylosteum ciliatum1 or fly honeysuckle1 the same with the yellow diervilla which ,i find in ,laurel ,glen to-day8 ,the birch is the surveyor's tree4 ,it makes the best stakes to look at through the sights of a compass1 except when there is snow on the ground4 ,their white bark was not made in vain4 ,in surveying wood-lots ,i have frequent occasion to say this is what they were made for4 ,i see that ,dugan has trimmed off and peeled the limbs of the willows on the ,turnpike to sell at the ,acton powder-mill4 ,i believe they get eight dollars a cord for this wood4 ,i4 ,hapgood of ,acton got me last ,friday to compare the level of his cellar-bottom with his garden1 for1 as he says1 when ,robbins ,wetherbee keep the water of ,nashoba ,brook back so as to flood his garden1 it comes into his cellar4 ,i found that part of the garden five inches lower than the cellar-bottom4 ,men are affected in various ways by the actions of others4 ,if a man far away builds a dam1 ,i have water in my cellar4 ,he said that the water was sometimes a foot deep in the garden4 ,we are enabled to criticise others only when we are different from1 and in a given particular superior to1 them ourselves4 ,by our aloofness from men and their affairs we are enabled to overlook and criticise them4 ,there are but few men who stand on the hills by the roadside4 ,i am sane only when ,i have risen above my common sense1 when ,i do not take the foolish view of things which is commonly taken1 when ,i do not live for the low ends for which men commonly live4 ,wisdom is not common4 ,to what purpose have ,i senses1 if ,i am thus absorbed in affairs8 ,my pulse must beat with ,nature4 ,after a hard day's work without a thought1 turning my very brain into a mere tool1 only in the quiet of evening do ,i so far recover my senses as to hear the cricket1 which in fact has been chirping all day4 ,in my better hours ,i am conscious of the influx of a serene and unquestionable wisdom which partly unfits1 and if ,i yielded to it more rememberingly would wholly unfit me1 for what is called the active business of life1 for that furnishes nothing on which the eye of reason can rest4 ,what is that other kind of life to which ,i am thus continually allured8 which alone ,i love8 ,is it a life for this world8 ,can a man feed and clothe himself gloriously who keeps only the truth steadily before him8 who calls in no evil to his aid8 ,are there duties which necessarily interfere with the serene perception of truth8 ,are our serene moments mere foretastes of heaven1--joys gratuitously vouchsafed to us as a consolation1--or simply a transient realization of what might be the whole tenor of our lives8 ,to be calm1 to be serene6 ,there is the calmness of the lake when there is not a breath of wind2 there is the calmness of a stagnant ditch4 ,so is it with us4 ,sometimes we are clarified and calmed healthily1 as we never were before in our lives1 not by an opiate1 but by some unconscious obedience to the all-just laws1 so that we become like a still lake of purest crystal and without an effort our depths are revealed to ourselves4 ,all the world goes by us and is reflected in our deeps4 ,such clarity6 obtained by such pure means6 by simple living1 by honesty of purpose4 ,we live and rejoice4 ,i awoke into a music which no one about me heard4 ,whom shall ,i thank for it8 ,the luxury of wisdom6 the luxury of virtue6 ,are there any intemperate in these things8 ,i feel my ,maker blessing me4 ,to the sane man the world is a musical instrument4 ,the very touch affords an exquisite pleasure4 ,as ,i walk the railroad causeway1 ,i notice that the fields and meadows have acquired various tinges as the season advances1 the sun gradually using all his paints4 ,there is the rosaceous evening red tinge of red clover1--like an evening sky gone down upon the grass1--the whiteweed tinge1 the white clover tinge1 which reminds me how sweet it smells4 ,the tall buttercup stars the meadow on another side1 telling of the wealth of dairies4 ,the blue-eyed grass1 so beautiful near at hand1 imparts a kind of slate or clay blue tinge to the meads4 ,it is hot noon4 ,the white pines are covered with froth at the base of the new shoots1 as ,i noticed the pitch pines were a week ago2 as if they perspired4 ,i am threading an open pitch and white pine wood1 easily traversed1 where the pine-needles redden all the ground1 which is as smooth as a carpet4 ,still the blackberries love to creep over this floor1 for it is not many years since this was a blackberry-field4 ,and ,i hear around me1 but never in sight1 the many wood thrushes whetting their steel-like notes4 ,such keen singers6 ,it takes a fiery heat1 many dry pine leaves added to the furnace of the sun1 to temper their strains6 ,always they are either rising or falling to a new strain4 ,after what a moderate pause they deliver themselves again6 saying ever a new thing1 avoiding repetition1 methinks answering one another4 ,while most other birds take their siesta1 the wood thrush discharges his song4 ,it is delivered like a bolas1 or a piece of jingling steel4 ,the domestic ox has his horns tipped with brass4 ,this and his shoes are the badges of servitude which he wears2 as if he would soon get to jacket and trousers4 ,i am singularly affected when ,i look over a herd of reclining oxen in their pasture1 and find that every one has these brazen balls on his horns4 ,they are partly humanized so4 ,it is not pure brute2 there is art added4 ,where are these balls sold8 ,who is their maker8 ,the bull has a ring in his nose4 ,the ,lysimachia quadrifolia exhibits its small yellow blossoms now in the wood-path4 ,butter-and-eggs has blossomed4 ,the ,uvularia vulgaris1 or bladderwort1 a yellow pea-like flower1 has blossomed in stagnant pools4 ,june #bc4 ,it is a pleasant sound to me1 the squeaking and the booming of nighthawks flying over high open fields in the woods4 ,they fly like butterflies1 not to avoid birds of prey but1 apparently1 to secure their own insect prey4 ,there is a particular part of the railroad just below the shanty where they may be heard and seen in greatest numbers4 ,but often you must look a long while before you can detect the mote in the sky from which the note proceeds4 ,the common cinquefoil 7,potentilla simplex7 greets me with its simple and unobtrusive yellow flower in the grass4 ,the ,p4 argentea1 hoary cinquefoil1 also is now in blossom4 ,p4 sarmentosa1 running cinquefoil1 we had common enough in the spring4 ,june #bf4 ,thursday4 ,the slight reddish-topped grass 7red-top87 now gives a reddish tinge to some fields1 like sorrel4 ,visited a menagerie this afternoon4 ,i am always surprised to see the same spots and stripes on wild beasts from ,africa and ,asia and also from ,south ,america1--on the ,brazilian tiger and the ,african leopard1--and their general similarity4 ,all these wild animals--lions1 tigers1 chetas1 leopards1 etc4--have one hue1--tawny and commonly spotted or striped1--what you may call pard-color1 a color and marking which ,i had not associated with ,america4 ,these are wild beasts4 ,what constitutes the difference between a wild beast and a tame one8 ,how much more human the one than the other6 ,growling1 scratching1 roaring1 with whatever beauty and gracefulness1 still untamable1 this royal ,bengal tiger or this leopard4 ,they have the character and the importance of another order of men4 ,the majestic lion1 the king of beasts1--he must retain his title4 ,i was struck by the gem-like1 changeable1 greenish reflections from the eyes of the grizzly bear1 so glassy that you never saw the surface of the eye4 ,they were quite demonic4 ,its claws1 though extremely large and long1 look weak and made for digging or pawing the earth and leaves4 ,it is unavoidable1 the idea of transmigration2 not merely a fancy of the poets1 but an instinct of the race4 ,june #bi4 ,there is a great deal of white clover this year4 ,in many fields where there has been no clover seed sown for many years at least1 it is more abundant than the red1 and the heads are nearly as large4 ,also pastures which are close cropped1 and where ,i think there was little or no clover last year1 are spotted white with a humbler growth4 ,and everywhere1 by roadsides1 garden borders1 etc41 even where the sward is trodden hard1 the small white heads on short stems are sprinkled everywhere4 ,as this is the season for the swarming of bees1 and this clover is very attractive to them1 it is probably the more difficult to secure them2 at any rate it is the more important to secure their services now that they can make honey so fast4 ,it is an interesting inquiry why this year is so favorable to the growth of clover6 ,i am interested to observe how old-country methods of farming resources are introduced among us4 ,the ,irish laborer1 for instance1 seeing that his employer is contemplating some agricultural enterprise1 as ditching or fencing1 suggests some old-country mode with which he has been familiar from a boy1 which is often found to be cheaper as well as more ornamental than the common2 and ,patrick is allowed to accomplish the object his own way1 and for once exhibits some skill and has not to be shown1 but1 working with a will as well as with pride1 does better than ever in the old country4 ,even the ,irishman exhibits what might be mistaken for a ,yankee knack1 exercising a merely inbred skill derived from the long teachings and practice of his ancestors4 ,i saw an ,irishman building a bank of sod where his employer had contemplated building a bank wall1 piling up very neatly and solidly with his spade and a line the sods taken from the rear1 and coping the face at a very small angle from the perpendicular1 intermingling the sods with bushes as they came to hand1 which would grow and strengthen the whole4 ,it was much more agreeable to the eye1 as well as less expensive1 than stone would have been1 and he thought that it would be equally effective as a fence and no less durable4 ,but it is true only experience will show when the same practice may be followed in this climate and in ,ireland1--whether our atmosphere is not too dry to admit of it4 ,at any rate it was wise in the farmer thus to avail himself of any peculiar experience which his hired laborer possessed4 ,that was what he should buy4 ,also ,i noticed the other day where one who raises seeds1 when his ropes and poles failed1 had used ropes twisted of straw to support his plants1--a resource probably suggested and supplied by his foreign laborers4 ,it is only remarkable that so few improvements or resources are or are to be adopted from the ,old ,world4 ,i look down on rays of prunella by the roadsides now4 ,the panicled or privet andromeda with its fruit-like white flowers4 ,swamp-pink ,i see for the first time this season4 ,the tree-primrose 7scabish7#bab 7nother biennais71 a rather coarse yellow flower with a long tubular calyx1 naturalized extensively in ,europe4 ,the clasping bellflower 7,campanula perfoliata1 from the heart-shaped leaves clasping the stalk71 an interesting flower4 ,the ,convolvulus sepium1 large bindweed1 make a fresh morning impression as of dews and purity4 ,the adder's-tongue arethusa1 a delicate pink flower4 ,how different is day from day6 ,yesterday the air was filled with a thick fog-like haze1 so that the sun did not once shine with ardor1 but everything was so tempered under this thin veil that it was a luxury merely to be outdoors1--you were less out for it4 ,the shadows of the apple trees even early in the afternoon were remarkably distinct4 ,the landscape wore a classical smoothness4 ,every object was as in a picture with a glass over it4 ,i saw some hills on this side the river1 looking from ,conantum1 on which1 the grass being of a yellow tinge1 though the sun did not shine out on them1 they had the appearance of being shone upon peculiarly4 ,it was merely an unusual yellow tint of the grass4 ,the mere surface of water was an object for the eye to linger on4 ,the panicled cornel1 a low shrub1 in blossom by wall-sides now4 ,i thought that one peculiarity of my 8,week0 was its hypthral character1 to use an epithet applied to those ,egyptian temples which are open to the heavens above1 under the ether4 ,i thought that it had little of the atmosphere of the house about it1 but might wholly have been written1 as in fact it was to a considerable extent1 out-of-doors4 ,it was only at a late period in writing it1 as it happened1 that ,i used any phrases implying that ,i lived in a house or led a domestic life4 ,i trust it does not smell so much of the study and library1 even of the poet's attic1 as of the fields and woods2 that it is a hypthral or unroofed book1 lying open under the ether and permeated by it1 open to all weathers1 not easy to be kept on a shelf4 ,the potatoes are beginning to blossom4 ,riding to survey a wood-lot yesterday1 ,i observed that a dog accompanied the wagon4 ,having tied the horse at the last house and entered the woods1 ,i saw no more of the dog while there2 but when riding back to the village1 ,i saw the dog again running by the wagon1 and in answer to my inquiry was told that the horse and wagon were hired and that the dog always accompanied the horse4 ,i queried whether it might happen that a dog would accompany the wagon if a strange horse were put into it2 whether he would ever attach himself to an inanimate object4 ,methinks the driver1 though a stranger1 as it were added intellect to the mere animality of the horse1 and the dog1 not making very nice distinctions1 yielded respect to the horse and equipage as if it were human4 ,if the horse were to trot off alone without a wagon or driver1 ,i think it doubtful if the dog would follow2 if with the wagon1 then the chances of his following would be increased2 but if with a driver1 though a stranger1 ,i have found by experience that he would follow4 ,at a distance in the meadow ,i hear still1 at long intervals1 the hurried commencement of the bobolink's strain1 the bird just dashing into song1 which is as suddenly checked1 as it were1 by the warder of the seasons1 and the strain is left incomplete forever4 ,like human beings they are inspired to sing only for a short season4#bac ,that little roadside pea-like-blossomed blue flower#bad is interesting to me4 ,the mulleins are just blossoming4 ,the voice of the crickets1 heard at noon from deep in the grass1 allies day to night4 ,it is unaffected by sun and moon4 ,it is a midnight sound heard at noon1 a midday sound heard at midnight4 ,i observed some mulleins growing on the western slope of the sandy railroad embankment1 in as warm a place as can easily be found1 where the heat was reflected from the sand oppressively at #c o'clock ,p4 ,m4 this hot day2 yet the green and living leaves felt rather cool than otherwise to the hand1 but the dead ones at the root were quite warm4 ,the living plant thus preserves a cool temperature in the hottest exposure1 as if it kept a cellar below1 from which cooling liquors were drawn up4 ,yarrow is now in full bloom1 and elder1 and a small many-headed white daisy like a small whiteweed4 ,the epilobium1 too1 is out4 ,the night-warbler sings the same strain at noon4 ,the song sparrow still occasionally reminds me of spring4 ,i observe that the high water in the ponds1 which have been rising for a year1 has killed most of the pitch pines and alders which it had planted and merely watered at its edge during the years of dryness4 ,but now it comes to undo its own work4 ,how awful is the least unquestionable meanness1 when we cannot deny that we have been guilty of it4 ,there seem to be no bounds to our unworthiness4 ,june #cj4 ,haying has commenced4 ,i see the farmers in distant fields cocking their hay now at six o'clock4 ,the day has been so oppressively warm that some workmen have lain by at noon1 and the haymakers are mowing now in the early twilight4 ,the blue flag 7,iris versicolor7 enlivens the meadow4 ,the lark sings at sundown off in the meadow4 ,it is a note which belongs to a ,new ,england summer evening4 ,though so late1 ,i hear the summer hum of a bee in the grass1 as ,i am on my way to the river behind ,hubbard's to bathe4 ,after hoeing in a dusty garden all this warm afternoon1--so warm that the baker says he never knew the like and expects to find his horses dead in the stable when he gets home1--it is very grateful to wend one's way at evening to some pure and cool stream and bathe therein4 ,the cranberry is now in blossom4 ,their fresh shoots have run a foot or two over the surface4 ,i have noticed an abundance of poison sumach this season4 ,it is now in blossom4 ,in some instances it has the size and form of a healthy peach tree4 ,the cuckoo is faintly heard from a neighboring grove4 ,now that it is beginning to be dark1 as ,i am crossing a pasture ,i hear a happy1 cricket-like1 shrill little lay from a sparrow1 either in the grass or else on that distant tree1 as if it were the vibrations of a watch-spring2 its vespers4 ,the tree-primrose1 which was so abundant in one field last ,saturday1 is now all gone4 ,the cattle on ,bear ,garden ,hill1 seen through the twilight1 look monstrously large4 ,i find abounding in the meadows the adder's-tongue arethusa and occasionally with it the ,cymbidium tuberosum of the same tint4 ,the obtuse galium is a delicate vine-like plant with a minute white blossom in the same places4 ,the ,st4 ,john's-wort has blossomed4 ,the 7nothera pumila1 or dwarf tree-primrose1 a neat yellow flower1 abounds in the meadows2 which the careless would mistake at a distance for buttercups4 ,the white buds of the clethra 7alder-leaved7 rise above their recent shoots4 ,the narrow-leaved cotton-grass spots the meadow with white1 seeming like loose down1 its stems are so slight4 ,the carrot growing wild which ,i observed by the railroad is now blossoming1 with its dishing blossom4 ,i found by the railroad1 a quarter of a mile from the road1 some common garden catch-fly1 the pink flower1 growing wild4 ,angelica is now in blossom1 with its large umbels4 ,swamp rose1 fugacious-petalled4 ,the prinos1 or winterberry1 budded1 with white clustered berry-like flower-buds1 is a pretty contrast to itself in the winter1--wax-like4 ,while bathing ,i plucked the common floating plant like a small yellow lily1 the yellow water ranunculus 7,r4 multifidus74 ,what ,i suppose is the ,aster miser1 small-flowered aster1 like a small many-headed whiteweed1 has now for a week been in bloom2 a humble weed1 but one of the earliest of the asters4#bae ,the umbelled thesium1 a simple white flower1 on the edge of the woods4 ,erysimum officinale1 hedge mustard1 with its yellow flowers4 ,i first observed about ten days ago that the fresh shoots of the fir balsam 7,abies balsamifera71 found under the tree wilted1 or plucked and kept in the pocket or in the house a few days1 emit the fragrance of strawberries1 only it is somewhat more aromatic and spicy4 ,it was to me a very remarkable fragrance to be emitted by a pine4 ,a very rich1 delicious1 aromatic1 spicy fragrance1 which if the fresh and living shoots emitted1 they would be still more to be sought after4 ,saw a brood of young partridges yesterday1 a little larger than robins4 ,,vi ,,july1 #ahea 7,t4 #cc-cd7 ,july #b4 ,it is a fresh1 cool summer morning4 ,from the road at ,n4 ,barrett's1 on my way to ,p4 ,blood's at #h4cj ,a4 ,m41 the ,great ,meadows have a slight bluish misty tinge in part2 elsewhere a sort of hoary sheen like a fine downiness1 inconceivably fine and silvery far away1--the light reflected from the grass blades1 a sea of grass hoary with light1 the counterpart of the frost in spring4 ,as yet no mower has profaned it2 scarcely a footstep since the waters left it4 ,miles of waving grass adorning the surface of the earth4 ,last night1 a sultry night which compelled to leave all windows open1 ,i heard two travellers talking aloud1 was roused out of my sleep by their loud1 day-like1 and somewhat unearthly discourse at perchance one o'clock4 ,from the country1 whiling away the night with loud discourse4 ,i heard the words 8,theodore ,parker0 and 8,wendell ,phillips0 loudly spoken1 and so did half a dozen of my neighbors1 who also were awakened4 ,such is fame4 ,it affected me like ,dante talking of the men of this world in the infernal regions4 ,if the travellers had called my own name ,i should equally have thought it an unearthly personage which it would take me some hours into daylight to realize4 ,o traveller1 haven't you got any further than that8 ,my genius hinted before ,i fairly awoke1 8,improve your time40 ,what is the night that a traveller's voice should sound so hollow in it8 that a man speaking aloud in the night1 speaking in regions under the earth1 should utter the words 8,theodore ,parker08 ,a traveller6 ,i love his title4 ,a traveller is to be reverenced as such4 ,his profession is the best symbol of our life4 ,going from ---- toward ----2 it is the history of every one of us4 ,i am interested in those that travel in the night4 ,it takes but little distance to make the hills and even the meadows look blue to-day4 ,that principle which gives the air an azure color is more abundant4 ,to-day the milkweed is blossoming4 ,some of the raspberries are ripe1 the most innocent and simple of fruits1 the purest and most ethereal4 ,cherries are ripe4 ,strawberries in the gardens have passed their prime4 ,many large trees1 especially elms1 about a house are a surer indication of old family distinction and worth than any evidence of wealth4 ,any evidence of care bestowed on these trees secures the traveller's respect as for a nobler husbandry than the raising of corn and potatoes4 ,i passed a regular country dooryard this forenoon1 the unpainted one-story house1 long and low with projecting stoop1 a deep grass-plot unfenced for yard1 hens and chickens scratching amid the chip dirt about the door1--this last the main feature1 relics of wood-piles1 sites of the wooden towers4 ,the nightshade has bloomed and the prinos1 or winterberry4 ,july #e4 ,the vetch-like flower by the ,marlborough road1 the ,tephrosia ,virginica1 is in blossom1 with mixed red and yellowish blossoms4 ,also the white fine-flowered ,jersey tea 7,ceanothus ,americana71 and1 by the side of wood-paths1 the humble cow-wheat 7,apocynum1 etc474 ,the blue flower by the roadside1 slender but pretty spike1 is the pale lobelia 7,l4 pallida74 ,the reddish blossoms of the umbelled wintergreen 7,pyrola umbellata7 are now in perfection and are exceedingly beautiful4 ,also the white sweet-scented flowers of the ,p4 rotundifolia4 ,it is a remarkably cool1 clear1 breezy atmosphere to-day4 ,one would say there were fewer flowers just now than there have been and are to be2 i4 e4 we do not look so much for the blossoming of new flowers4 ,the earliest small fruits are just beginning to be ripe1--the raspberry1 thimble-berry1 blueberry1 etc4 ,we have no longer the blossoms of those which must ripen their fruits in early autumn4 ,i am interested in those fields in the woods where the potato is cultivated1 growing in the light1 dry1 sandy soil1 free from weeds2 now in blossom1 the slight vine not crowded in the hill4 ,i think they do not promise many potatoes1 though mealy and wholesome like nuts4 ,many fields have now received their last hoeing1 and the farmers' work seems to be soon over with them4 ,what a pleasant interview he must have had with them6 ,what a liberal education with these professors6 ,better than a university4 ,it is pleasing to consider man's cultivating this plant thus assiduously1 without reference to any crop it may yield him1 as if he were to cultivate johnswort in like manner4 ,what influences does he receive from this long intercourse4 ,the flowers of the umbelled pyrola1 or common wintergreen1 are really very handsome now1 dangling red from their little umbels like jewelry1--especially the unexpanded buds with their red calyx-leaves against the white globe of petals4 ,there is a handsome wood-path on the east side of ,white ,pond4 ,the shadows of the pine stems and branches falling across the path1 which is perfectly red with pine-needles1 make a very handsome carpet4 ,here is a small road running north and south along the edge of the wood1 which would be a good place to walk by moonlight4 ,the calamint grows by the lane beyond ,seven-,star ,lane2 now in blossom4 ,as we come over ,hubbard's ,bridge between #e and #f ,p4 ,m41 the sun getting low1 a cool wind blowing up the valley1 we sit awhile on the rails which are destined for the new railing4 ,the light on the ,indian hill is very soft and glorious1 giving the idea of the most wonderful fertility4 ,the most barren hills are gilded like waving grain-fields4 ,what a paradise to sail by6 ,the cliffs and woods up the stream are nearer and have more shadow and actuality about them4 ,this retired bridge is a favorite spot with me4 ,i have witnessed many a fair sunset from it4 ,july #f4 ,sunday4 ,i walked by night last moon1 and saw its disk reflected in ,walden ,pond1 the broken disk1 now here1 now there1 a pure and memorable flame unearthly bright1 like a cucullo#baf of a water-bug4 ,ah6 but that first faint tinge of moonlight on the gap6 7seen some time ago71#bag--;a silvery light from the east before day had departed in the west4 ,what an immeasurable interval there is between the first tinge of moonlight which we detect1 lighting with mysterious1 silvery1 poetic light the western slopes1 like a paler grass1 and the last wave of daylight on the eastern slopes6 ,it is wonderful how our senses ever span so vast an interval1 how from being aware of the one we become aware of the other4 ,and now the night wind blows1--from where8 ,what gave it birth8 ,it suggests an interval equal to that between the most distant periods recorded in history4 ,the silver age is not more distant from the golden than moonlight is from sunlight4 ,i am looking into the west1 where the red clouds still indicate the course of departing day4 ,i turn and see the silent1 spiritual1 contemplative moonlight shedding the softest imaginable light on the western slopes of the hills1 as if1 after a thousand years of polishing1 their surfaces were just beginning to be bright1--a pale whitish lustre4 ,already the crickets chirp to the moon a different strain1 and the night wind rustles the leaves of the wood4 ,a different dynasty has commenced4 ,yet moonlight1 like daylight1 is more valuable for what it suggests than for what it actually is4 ,it is a long past season of which ,i dream4 ,and the reason is perchance because it is a more sacred and glorious season1 to which ,i instantly refer all glorious actions in past time4 ,let a nobler landscape present itself1 let a purer air blow1 and ,i locate all the worthies of the world4 ,ah1 there is the mysterious light which for some hours has illustrated ,asia and the scene of ,alexander's victories1 now at length1 after two or three hours spent in surmounting the billows of the ,atlantic1 come to shine on ,america4 ,there1 on that illustrated sand-bank1 was revealed an antiquity beside which ,nineveh is young4 ,such a light as sufficed for the earliest ages4 ,from what star has it arrived on this planet8 ,yet even at midday ,i see the full moon shining in the sky4 ,what if1 in some vales1 only its light is reflected8 ,what if there are some spirits which walk in its light alone still8 who separate the moonlight from the sunlight1 and are shined on by the former only8 ,i passed from dynasty to dynasty1 from one age of the world to another age of the world1 from ,jove perchance back to ,saturn4 ,what river of ,lethe was there to run between8 ,i bade farewell to that light setting in the west and turned to salute the new light rising in the east4 ,there is some advantage in being the humblest1 cheapest1 least dignified man in the village1 so that the very stable boys shall damn you4 ,methinks ,i enjoy that advantage to an unusual extent4 ,there is many a coarsely well-meaning fellow1 who knows only the skin of me1 who addresses me familiarly by my ,christian name4 ,i get the whole good of him and lose nothing myself4 ,there is 8,sam10 the jailer1--whom ,i never call ,sam1 however1--who exclaimed last evening3 8,thoreau1 are you going up the street pretty soon8 ,well1 just take a couple of these handbills along and drop one in at ,hoar's piazza and one at ,holbrook's1 and ,i'll do as much for you another time40 ,i am not above being used1 aye abused1 sometimes4 ,the red clover heads are now turned black4 ,they no longer impart that rosaceous tinge to the meadows and fertile fields4 ,it is but a short time that their rich bloom lasts4 ,the white is black or withering also4 ,whiteweed still looks white in the fields4 ,blue-eyed grass is now rarely seen4 ,the grass in the fields and meadows is not so fresh and fair as it was a fortnight ago4 ,it is dryer and riper and ready for the mowers4 ,now ,june is past4 ,june is the month for grass and flowers4 ,now grass is turning to hay1 and flowers to fruits4 ,already ,i gather ripe blueberries on the hills4 ,the red-topped grass is in its prime1 tingeing the fields with red4 ,it is a free1 flowing wind1 with wet clouds in the sky1 though the sun shines4 ,the distant hills look unusually near in this atmosphere4 ,acton meeting-houses seen to stand on the side of some hills1 ,nagog or ,nashoba1 beyond1 as never before4 ,nobscot looks like a high pasture in the sunlight not far off4 ,from time to time ,i hear a few drops of rain falling on the leaves1 but none is felt and the sun does not cease to shine4 ,all serious showers go round me and get out of my way4 ,the clasping harebell is certainly a pretty flower1 and so is the tephrosia4 ,the poke has blossomed and the indigo-weed4 ,july #g4 ,the intimations of the night are divine1 methinks4 ,men might meet in the morning and report the news of the night1--what divine suggestions have been made to them4 ,i find that ,i carry with me into the day often some such hint derived from the gods1--such impulses to purity1 to heroism1 to literary effort even1 as are never day-born4#bah ,one of those mornings which usher in no day1 but rather an endless morning1 a protracted auroral season1 for clouds prolong the twilight the livelong day4 ,and now that there is an interregnum in the blossoming of the flowers1 so is there in the singing of the birds4 ,the golden robin is rarely heard1 and the bobolink1 etc4 ,i rejoice when in a dream ,i have loved virtue and nobleness4 ,where is ,grecian history8 ,it is when in the morning ,i recall the intimations of the night4 99 99 99 99 99 ,the moon is now more than half full4 ,when ,i come through the village at #aj o'clock this cold night1 cold as in ,may1 the heavy shadows of the elms covering the ground with their rich tracery impress me as if men had got so much more than they had bargained for1 not only trees to stand in the air1 but to checker the ground with their shadows4 ,at night they lie along the earth4 ,they tower1 they arch1 they droop over the streets like chandeliers of darkness4 ,in my walk the other afternoon1 ,i saw the sun shining into the depths of a thick pine wood1 checkering the ground like moonlight and illuminating the lichen-covered bark of a large white pine1 from which it was reflected through the surrounding thicket as from another sun4 ,this was so deep in the woods that you would have said no sun could penetrate thither4 ,i have been to-night with ,anthony ,wright to look through ,perez ,blood's telescope a second time4 ,a dozen of ,blood's neighbors were swept along in the stream of our curiosity4 ,one who lived half a mile this side said that ,blood had been down that way within a day or two with his terrestrial1 or day1 glass1 looking into the eastern horizon at the hills of ,billerica1 ,burlington1 and ,woburn4 ,i was amused to see what sort of respect this man with a telescope had obtained from his neighbors1 something akin to that which savages award to civilized men1 though in this case the interval between the parties was very slight4 ,mr4 ,blood1 with his skull-cap on1 his short figure1 his north ,european figure1 made me think of ,tycho ,brahe4 ,he did not invite us into his house this cool evening1--men nor women1--nor did he ever before to my knowledge4 ,i am still contented to see the stars with my naked eye4 ,mr4 ,wright asked him what his instrument cost4 ,he answered1 8,well1 that is something ,i don't like to tell40 7,stuttering or hesitating in his speech a little as usual47 8,it is a very proper question1 however40 8,yes10 said ,i1 8and you think that you have given a very proper answer40 ,returning1 my companion1 ,wright1 the sexton1 told me how dusty he found it digging a grave that afternoon1--for one who had been a pupil of mine4 ,for two feet1 he said1 notwithstanding the rain1 he found the soil as dry as ashes4 ,with a certain wariness1 but not without a slight shudder at the danger oftentimes1 ,i perceive how near ,i had come to admitting into my mind the details of some trivial affair1 as a case at court2 and ,i am astonished to observe how willing men are to lumber their minds with such rubbish1--to permit idle rumors1 tales1 incidents1 even of an insignificant kind1 to intrude upon what should be the sacred ground of the thoughts4 ,shall the temple of our thought be a public arena where the most trivial affairs of the market and the gossip of the tea-table is discussed1--a dusty1 noisy1 trivial place8 ,or shall it be a quarter of heaven itself1 a place consecrated to the service of the gods1 a hypthral temple8 ,i find it so difficult to dispose of the few facts which to me are significant1 that ,i hesitate to burden my mind with the most insignificant1 which only a divine mind could illustrate4 ,such is1 for the most part1 the news1--in newspapers and conversation4 ,it is important to preserve the mind's chastity in this respect4 ,think of admitting the details of a single case of the criminal court into the mind1 to stalk profanely through its very sanctum sanctorum for an hour1 aye1 for many hours6 to make a very bar-room of your mind's inmost apartment1 as if for a moment the dust of the street had occupied you1 aye1 the very street itself1 with all its travel1 passed through your very mind of minds1 your thoughts' shrine1 with all its filth and bustle6 ,would it not be an intellectual suicide8 ,by all manner of boards and traps1 threatening the extreme penalty of the divine law1 excluding trespassers from these grounds1 it behooves us to preserve the purity and sanctity of the mind4#bai ,it is so hard to forget what it is worse than useless to remember4 ,if ,i am to be a channel or thoroughfare1 ,i prefer that it be of the mountain springs1 and not the town sewers1--the ,parnassian streams4 ,there is inspiration1 the divine gossip which comes to the ear of the attentive mind from the courts of heaven2 there is the profane and stale revelation of the bar-room and the police court4 ,the same ear is fitted to receive both communications4 ,only the character of the individual determines to which source chiefly it shall be open and to which closed4 ,i believe that the mind can be profaned by the habit of attending to trivial things1 so that all our thoughts shall be tinged with triviality4 ,they shall be dusty as stones in the street4 ,our very minds shall be paved and macadamized1 as it were1 their foundation broken into fragments for the wheels of travel to roll over4 ,if we have thus desecrated ourselves1 the remedy will be1 by circumspection and wariness1 by our aspiration and devotion1 to consecrate ourselves1 to make a fane of the mind4 ,i think that we should treat our minds as innocent and ingenuous children whose guardians we are1--be careful what objects and what subjects we thrust on their attention4 ,even the facts of science may dust the mind by their dryness1 unless they are in a sense effaced each morning1 or rather rendered fertile by the dews of fresh and living truth4 ,every thought that passes through the mind helps to wear and tear it1 and to deepen the ruts1 which1 as in the streets of ,pompeii1 evince how much it has been used4 ,how many things there are concerning which we might well deliberate whether we had better know them6#bbj ,routine1 conventionality1 manners1 etc41 etc41--how insensibly an undue attention to these dissipates and impoverishes the mind1 robs it of its simplicity and strength1 emasculates it6 ,knowledge does not come to us by details but by lieferungs from the gods4 ,what else is it to wash and purify ourselves8 ,conventionalities are as bad as impurities4#bba ,only thought which is expressed by the mind in repose--as it were1 lying on its back and contemplating the heavens--is adequately and fully expressed4 ,what are sidelong1 transient1 passing half-views8 ,the writer expressing his thought must be as well seated as the astronomer contemplating the heavens2 he must not occupy a constrained position4 ,the facts1 the experience1 we are well poised upon6 which secures our whole attention6 ,the senses of children are unprofaned4 ,their whole body is one sense2 they take a physical pleasure in riding on a rail1 they love to teeter4 ,so does the unviolated1 the unsophisticated mind derive an inexpressible pleasure from the simplest exercise of thoughts4 ,i can express adequately only the thought which ,i love to express4 ,all the faculties in repose but the one you are using1 the whole energy concentrated in that4 ,be ever so little distracted1 your thoughts so little confused1 your engagements so few1 your attention so free1 your existence so mundane1 that in all places and in all hours you can hear the sound of crickets in those seasons when they are to be heard4 ,it is a mark of serenity and health of mind when a person hears this sound much1--in streets of cities as well as in fields4 ,some ears never hear this sound2 are called deaf4 ,is it not because they have so long attended to other sounds8 ,july #h4 ,tuesday4 ,walked along the ,clamshell bank after sundown4 ,a cloudy sky4 ,the heads of the grass in the pasture behind ,dennis's have a reddish cast1 but another grass1 with a lighter-colored stem and leaves1 on the higher parts of the field gives a yellowish tinge to those parts1 as if they reflected a misty sunlight4 ,even much later in the night these light spots were distinguishable4 ,i am struck by the cool1 juicy1 pickled-cucumber green of the potato-fields now4 ,how lusty these vines look6 ,the pasture naturally exhibits at this season no such living green as the cultivated fields4 ,i perceive that flower of the lowlands now1 with a peculiar leaf and conspicuous white umbels4#bbb ,illustration ,here are mulleins covering a field 7the ,clamshell field7 where three years ago were none noticeable1 but a smooth uninterrupted pasture sod4 ,two years ago it was plowed for the first time for many years1 and millet and corn and potatoes planted1 and now where the millet grew these mulleins have sprung up4 ,who can write the history of these fields8 ,the millet does not perpetuate itself1 but the few seeds of the mullein1 which perchance were brought here with it1 are still multiplying the race4 ,the thick heads of the yellow dock warn me of the lapse of time4 ,here are some rich rye-fields waving over all the land1 their heads nodding in the evening breeze with an apparently alternating motion2 i4 e4 they do not all bend at once by ranks1 but separately1 and hence this agreeable alternation4 ,how rich a sight this cereal fruit1 now yellow for the cradle1--flavus6 ,it is an impenetrable phalanx4 ,i walk for half a mile beside these ,macedonians1 looking in vain for an opening4 ,there is no ,arnold ,winkelried to gather these spear-heads upon his breast and make an opening for me4 ,this is food for man4 ,the earth labors not in vain2 it is bearing its burden4 ,the yellow1 waving1 rustling rye extends far up and over the hills on either side1 a kind of pinafore to nature1 leaving only a narrow and dark passage at the bottom of a deep ravine4 ,how rankly it has grown6 ,how it hastes to maturity6 ,i discover that there is such a goddess as ,ceres4 ,these long grain-fields which you must respect1--must go round1--occupying the ground like an army4 ,the small trees and shrubs seen dimly in its midst are overwhelmed by the grain as by an inundation4 ,they are seen only as indistinct forms of bushes and green leaves mixed with the yellow stalks4 ,there are certain crops which give me the idea of bounty1 of the ,alma ,natura4#bbc ,they are the grains4 ,potatoes do not so fill the lap of earth4 ,this rye excludes everything else and takes possession of the soil4 ,the farmer says1 8,next year ,i will raise a crop of rye20 and he proceeds to clear away the brush1 and either plows it1 or1 if it is too uneven or stony1 burns and harrows it only1 and scatters the seed with faith4 ,and all winter the earth keeps his secret1--unless it did leak out somewhat in the fall1--and in the spring this early green on the hillsides betrays him4 ,when ,i see this luxuriant crop spreading far and wide in spite of rock and bushes and unevenness of ground1 ,i cannot help thinking that it must have been unexpected by the farmer himself1 and regarded by him as a lucky accident for which to thank fortune4 ,this1 to reward a transient faith1 the gods had given4 ,as if he must have forgotten that he did it1 until he saw the waving grain inviting his sickle4 ,july #i4 ,when ,i got out of the cars at ,porter's1 ,cambridge1 this morning1 ,i was pleased to see the handsome blue flowers of the succory or endive 7,cichorium ,intybus71 which reminded me that within the hour ,i had been whirled into a new botanical region4 ,they must be extremely rare1 if they occur at all1 in ,concord4 ,this weed is handsomer than most garden flowers4 ,saw there also the ,cucubalus ,behen1 or bladder campion1 also the autumnal dandelion 7,apargia autumnalis74 ,visited the ,observatory4 ,bond said they were cataloguing the stars at ,washington 7871 or trying to4 ,they do not at ,cambridge2 of no use with their force4 ,have not force enough now to make magnetic observations4 ,when ,i asked if an observer with the small telescope could find employment1 he said1 ,oh yes1 there was employment enough for observation with the naked eye1 observing the changes in the brilliancy of stars1 etc41 etc41 if they could only get some good observers4 ,one is glad to hear that the naked eye still retains some importance in the estimation of astronomers4 ,coming out of town1--willingly as usual1--when ,i saw that reach of ,charles ,river just above the depot1 the fair1 still water this cloudy evening suggesting the way to eternal peace and beauty1 whence it flows1 the placid1 lake-like fresh water1 so unlike the salt brine1 affected me not a little4 ,i was reminded of the way in which ,wordsworth so coldly speaks of some natural visions or scenes 8giving him pleasure40 ,this is perhaps the first vision of elysium on this route from ,boston4 ,and just then ,i saw an encampment of ,penobscots1 their wigwams appearing above the railroad fence1 they1 too1 looking up the river as they sat on the ground1 and enjoying the scene4 ,what can be more impressive than to look up a noble river just at evening1--one1 perchance1 which you have never explored1--and behold its placid waters1 reflecting the woods and sky1 lapsing inaudibly toward the ocean2 to behold as a lake1 but know it as a river1 tempting the beholder to explore it and his own destiny at once8 ,haunt of waterfowl4 ,this was above the factories1--all that ,i saw4 ,that water could never have flowed under a factory4 ,how then could it have reflected the sky8 ,july #aj4 ,a gorgeous sunset after rain1 with horizontal bars of clouds1 red sashes to the western window1 barry clouds hanging like a curtain over the window of the west1 damask4 ,first there is a low arch of the storm clouds in the west1 under which is seen the clearer1 fairer1 serener sky and more distant sunset clouds1 and under all1 on the horizon's edge1 heavier1 massive dark clouds1 not to be distinguished from the mountains4 ,how many times ,i have seen this kind of sunset1--the most gorgeous sight in nature6 ,from the hill behind ,minott's ,i see the birds flying against this red sky1 the sun having set2 one looks like a bat4 ,now between two stupendous mountains of the low stratum under the evening red1 clothed in slightly rosaceous amber light1 through a magnificent gorge1 far1 far away1 as perchance may occur in pictures of the ,spanish coast viewed from the ,mediterranean1 ,i see a city1 the eternal city of the west1 the phantom city1 in whose streets no traveller has trod1 over whose pavements the horses of the sun have already hurried1 some ,salamanca of the imagination4 ,but it lasts only for a moment1 for now the changing light has wrought such changes in it that ,i see the resemblance no longer4 ,a softer amber sky than in any picture4 ,the swallows are improving this short day1 twittering as they fly1 and the huckleberry-bird#bbd repeats his jingling strain1 and the song sparrow1 more honest than most4 ,i am always struck by the centrality of the observer's position4 ,he always stands fronting the middle of the arch1 and does not suspect at first that a thousand observers on a thousand hills behold the sunset sky from equally favorable positions4 ,and now ,i turn and observe the dark masses of the trees in the east1 not green but black4 ,while the sun was setting in the west1 the trees were rising in the east4 ,i perceive that the low stratum of dark clouds under the red sky all dips one way1 and to a remarkable degree presents the appearance of the butt ends of cannons slanted toward the sky1 thus3-- ,illustration ,such uniformity on a large scale is unexpected and pleasant to detect1 evincing the simplicity of the laws of their formation4 ,uniformity in the shapes of clouds of a single stratum is always to be detected1 the same wind shaping clouds of the like consistency and in like positions4 ,no doubt an experienced observer could discover the states of the upper atmosphere by studying the forms and characters of the clouds4 ,i traced the distinct form of the cannon in seven instances1 stretching over the whole length of the cloud1 many a mile in the horizon4 ,and the nighthawk dashes past in the twilight with mottled 787 wing1 within a rod of me4 ,july #aa4 ,friday4 ,at #g4ae ,p4 ,m4 with ,w4 ,e4 ,c4 go forth to see the moon1 the glimpses of the moon4 ,we think she is not quite full2 we can detect a little flatness on the eastern side4 ,shall we wear thick coats8 ,the day has been warm enough1 but how cool will the night be8 ,it is not sultry1 as the last night4 ,as a general rule1 it is best to wear your thickest coat even in a ,july night4 ,which way shall we walk8 ,northwest1 that we may see the moon returning8 ,but on that side the river prevents our walking in the fields1 and on other accounts that direction is not so attractive4 ,we go toward ,bear ,garden ,hill4 ,the sun is setting4 ,the meadow-sweet has bloomed4 ,these dry hills and pastures are the places to walk by moonlight4 ,the moon is silvery still1 not yet inaugurated4 ,the tree-tops are seen against the amber west4 ,i seem to see the outlines of one spruce among them1 distinguishable afar4 ,my thoughts expand and flourish most on this barren hill1 where in the twilight ,i see the moss spreading in rings and prevailing over the short1 thin grass1 carpeting the earth1 adding a few inches of green to its circle annually while it dies within4 ,as we round the sandy promontory1 we try the sand and rocks with our hands4 ,the sand is cool on the surface but warmer a few inches beneath1 though the contrast is not so great as it was in ,may4 ,the larger rocks are perceptibly warm4 ,i pluck the blossom of the milkweed in the twilight and find how sweet it smells4 ,the white blossoms of the ,jersey tea dot the hillside1 with the yarrow everywhere4 ,some woods are black as clouds2 if we knew not they were green by day1 they would appear blacker still4 ,when we sit1 we hear the mosquitoes hum4 ,the woodland paths are not the same by night as by day2 if they are a little grown up1 the eye cannot find them1 but must give the reins to the feet1 as the traveller to his horse4 ,so we went through the aspens at the base of the ,cliffs1 their round leaves reflecting the lingering twilight on the one side1 the waxing moonlight on the other4 ,always the path was unexpectedly open4 ,now we are getting into moonlight4 ,we see it reflected from particular stumps in the depths of the darkest woods1 and from the stems of trees1 as if it selected what to shine on1#bbe--;a silvery light4 ,it is a light1 of course1 which we have had all day1 but which we have not appreciated1 and proves how remarkable a lesser light can be when a greater has departed4 ,how simply and naturally the moon presides6 ',t is true she was eclipsed by the sun1 but now she acquires an almost equal respect and worship by reflecting and representing him1 with some new quality1 perchance1 added to his light1 showing how original the disciple may be who still in midday is seen1 though pale and cloud-like1 beside his master4 ,such is a worthy disciple4 ,in his master's presence he still is seen and preserves a distinct existence2 and in his absence he reflects and represents him1 not without adding some new quality to his light1 not servile and never rival4 ,as the master withdraws himself1 the disciple1 who was a pale cloud before1 begins to emit a silvery light1 acquiring at last a tinge of golden as the darkness deepens1 but not enough to scorch the seeds which have been planted or to dry up the fertilizing dews which are falling4 ,passing now near ,well ,meadow ,head toward ,baker's orchard4 ,the sweet-fern and indigo-weed fill the path up to one's middle1 wetting us with dews so high4 ,the leaves are shining and flowing4#bbf ,we wade through the luxuriant vegetation1 seeing no bottom4 ,looking back toward the ,cliffs1 some dead trees in the horizon1 high on the rocks1 make a wild ,new ,hampshire prospect4 ,there is the faintest possible mist over the pond-holes1 where the frogs are eructating1 like the falling of huge drops1 the bursting of mephitic air-bubbles rising from the bottom1 a sort of blubbering1--such conversation as ,i have heard between men1 a belching conversation1 expressing a sympathy of stomachs and abdomens4 ,the peculiar appearance of the indigo-weed1 its misty massiveness1 is striking4 ,in ,baker's orchard the thick grass looks like a sea of mowing in this weird moonlight1 a bottomless sea of grass4 ,our feet must be imaginative1 must know the earth in imagination only1 as well as our heads4 ,we sit on the fence1 and1 where it is broken and interrupted1 the fallen and slanting rails are lost in the grass 7really thin and wiry7 as in water4 ,we even see our tracks a long way behind1 where we have brushed off the dew4 ,the clouds are peculiarly wispy to-night1 somewhat like fine flames1 not massed and dark nor downy1 not thick1 but slight1 thin wisps of mist4 ,i hear the sound of ,heywood's ,brook falling into ,fair ,haven ,pond1 inexpressibly refreshing to my senses4 ,it seems to flow through my very bones4 ,i hear it with insatiable thirst4 ,it allays some sandy heat in me4 ,it affects my circulations2 methinks my arteries have sympathy with it4 ,what is it ,i hear but the pure waterfalls within me1 in the circulation of my blood1 the streams that fall into my heart8 ,what mists do ,i ever see but such as hang over and rise from my blood8 ,the sound of this gurgling water1 running thus by night as by day1 falls on all my dashes1 fills all my buckets1 overflows my float-boards1 turns all the machinery of my nature1 makes me a flume1 a sluice-way1 to the springs of nature4 ,thus ,i am washed2 thus ,i drink and quench my thirst4#bbg ,where the streams fall into the lake1 if they are only a few inches more elevated1 all walkers may hear4 ,on the high path through ,baker's wood ,i see1 or rather feel1 the tephrosia4 ,now we come out into the open pasture4 ,and under those woods of elm and buttonwood1 where still no light is seen1 repose a family of human beings4 ,by night there is less to distinguish this locality from the woods and meadows we have threaded4 ,we might go very near to farmhouses covered with ornamental trees and standing on a highroad1 thinking that we were in the most retired woods and fields still4 ,having yielded to sleep1 man is a less obtrusive inhabitant of nature4 ,now1 having reached the dry pastures again1 we are surrounded by a flood of moonlight4 ,the dim cart-path over the sward curves gracefully through the pitch pines1 ever to some more fairy-like spot4 ,the rails in the fences shine like silver4 ,we know not whether we are sitting on the ruins of a wall1 or the materials which are to compose a new one4 ,i see1 half a mile off1 a phosphorescent arc on the hillside1 where ,bartlett's ,cliff reflects the moonlight4 ,going by the shanty1 ,i smell the excrements of its inhabitants1 which ,i had never smelt before4 ,and now1 at half-past #aj o'clock1 ,i hear the cockerels crow in ,hubbard's barns1 and morning is already anticipated4 ,it is the feathered1 wakeful thought in us that anticipates the following day4 ,this sound is wonderfully exhilarating at all times4 ,these birds are worth far more to me for their crowing and cackling than for their drumsticks and eggs4#bbh ,how singular the connection of the hen with man1--that she leaves her eggs in his barns always6 ,she is a domestic fowl1 though still a little shyish of him4 ,i cannot help looking at the whole as an experiment still and wondering that in each case it succeeds4 ,there is no doubt at last but hens may be kept4 ,they will put their eggs in your barn by a tacit agreement4 ,they will not wander far from your yard4 ,july #ab4 #h ,p4 ,m4--,now at least the moon is full1 and ,i walk alone1 which is best by night1 if not by day always4 ,your companion must sympathize with the present mood4 ,the conversation must be located where the walkers are1 and vary exactly with the scene and events and the contour of the ground4 ,farewell to those who will talk of nature unnaturally1 whose presence is an interruption4 ,i know but one with whom ,i can walk4 ,i might as well be sitting in a bar-room with them as walk and talk with most4 ,we are never side by side in our thoughts1 and we cannot hear each other's silence4 ,indeed1 we cannot be silent4 ,we are forever breaking silence1 that is all1 and mending nothing4 ,how can they keep together who are going different ways6 ,i start a sparrow from her three eggs in the grass1 where she had settled for the night4 ,the earliest corn is beginning to show its tassels now1 and ,i scent it as ,i walk1--its peculiar dry scent4#bbi 7,this afternoon ,i gathered ripe blackberries1 and felt as if the autumn had commenced47 ,now perchance many sounds and sights only remind me that they once said something to me1 and are so by association interesting4 ,i go forth to be reminded of a previous state of existence1 if perchance any memento of it is to be met with hereabouts4 ,i have no doubt that ,nature preserves her integrity4 ,nature is in as rude health as when ,homer sang4 ,we may at last by our sympathies be well4 ,i see a skunk on ,bear ,garden ,hill stealing noiselessly away from me1 while the moon shines over the pitch pines1 which send long shadows down the hill4 ,now1 looking back1 ,i see it shining on the south side of farmhouses and barns with a weird light1 for ,i pass here half an hour later than last night4 ,i smell the huckleberry bushes4 ,i hear a human voice1--some laborer singing after his day's toil1--which ,i do not often hear4 ,loud it must be1 for it is far away4 ,methinks ,i should know it for a white man's voice4 ,some strains have the melody of an instrument4 ,now ,i hear the sound of a bugle in the 8,corner10 reminding me of poetic wars2 a few flourishes and the bugler has gone to rest4 ,at the foot of the ,cliff hill ,i hear the sound of the clock striking nine1 as distinctly as within a quarter of a mile usually1 though there is no wind4 ,the moonlight is more perfect than last night2 hardly a cloud in the sky1--only a few fleecy ones4 ,there is more serenity and more light4 ,i hear that sort of throttled or chuckling note as of a bird flying high1 now from this side1 then from that4#bcj ,methinks when ,i turn my head ,i see ,wachusett from the side of the hill4 ,i smell the butter-and-eggs as ,i walk4 ,i am startled by the rapid transit of some wild animal across my path1 a rabbit or a fox1--or you hardly know if it be not a bird4 ,looking down from the cliffs1 the leaves of the tree-tops shine more than ever by day4 ,here and there a lightning-bug shows his greenish light over the tops of the trees4 ,as ,i return through the orchard1 a foolish robin bursts away from his perch unnaturally1 with the habits of man4 ,the air is remarkably still and unobjectionable on the hilltop1 and the whole world below is covered as with a gossamer blanket of moonlight4 ,it is just about as yellow as a blanket4 ,it is a great dimly burnished shield with darker blotches on its surface4 ,you have lost some light1 it is true1 but you have got this simple and magnificent stillness1 brooding like genius4#bca ,july #ac4 ,observed yesterday1 while surveying near ,gordon's1 a bittern flying over near ,gordon's1 with moderate flight and outstretched neck1 its breast-bone sticking out sharp like the bone in the throats of some persons1 its anatomy exposed4 ,the evergreen is very handsome in the woods now1 rising somewhat spirally in a round tower of five or six stories1 surmounted by a long bud4 ,looking across the river to ,conantum from the open plains1 ,i think how the history of the hills would read1 since they have been pastured by cows1 if every plowing and mowing and sowing and chopping were recorded4 ,i hear1 #d ,p4 ,m41 a pigeon woodpecker on a dead pine near by1 uttering a harsh and scolding scream1 spying me4 ,the chewink jingles on the tops of the bushes1 and the rush sparrow1#bcb the vireo1 and oven-bird at a distance2 and a robin sings1 superior to all2 and a barking dog has started something on the opposite side of the river2 and now the wood thrush surpasses them all4 ,these plains are covered with shrub oaks1 birches1 aspens1 hickories1 mingled with sweet-fern and brakes and huckleberry bushes and epilobium1 now in bloom1 and much fine grass4 ,the hellebore by the brooksides has now fallen over1 though it is not broken off4 ,the cows now repose and chew the cud under the shadow of a tree1 or crop the grass in the shade along the side of the woods1 and when you approach to observe them they mind you just enough4 ,i turn up the ,juniperus repens1 and see the lighter color of its leaves on the under sides1 and its berries with three petal-like divisions in one end4 ,the sweet-scented life-everlasting is budded4 ,this might be called the ,hayer's or ,haymaker's ,moon1 for ,i perceive that when the day has been oppressively warm the haymakers rest at noon and resume their mowing after sunset1 sometimes quite into evening4 ,july #ad4 ,passing over the ,great ,fields 7where ,i have been surveying a road7 this forenoon1 where were some early turnips1 the county commissioners plucked and pared them with their knives and ate them4 ,i1 too1 tried hard to chew a mouthful of raw turnip and realize the life of cows and oxen1 for it might be a useful habit in extremities4 ,these things occur as the seasons revolve4 ,these are things which travellers will do4 ,how many men have tasted a raw turnip6 ,how few have eaten a whole one6 ,some bovine appetites1 which find some fodder in every field4 ,for like reasons we sometimes eat sorrel and say we love it1 that we may return the hospitality of ,nature by exhibiting a good appetite4 ,the citizen looks sharp to see if there is any dogwood or poison sumach in the swamp before he enters4 ,if ,i take the same walk by moonlight an hour later or earlier in the evening1 it is as good as a different one4 ,i love the night for its novelty2 it is less prophaned than the day4#bcc ,the creaking of the crickets seems at the very foundation of all sound4 ,at last ,i cannot tell it from a ringing in my ears4 ,it is a sound from within1 not without4 ,you cannot dispose of it by listening to it4 ,in proportion as ,i am stilled ,i hear it4 ,it reminds me that ,i am a denizen of the earth4 ,july #af4 ,wednesday4 ,methinks my present experience is nothing2 my past experience is all in all4 ,i think that no experience which ,i have to-day comes up to1 or is comparable with1 the experiences of my boyhood4 ,and not only this is true1 but as far back as ,i can remember ,i have unconsciously referred to the experiences of a previous state of existence4 8,for life is a forgetting10 etc4 ,formerly1 methought1 nature developed as ,i developed1 and grew up with me4 ,my life was ecstasy4 ,in youth1 before ,i lost any of my senses1 ,i can remember that ,i was all alive1 and inhabited my body with inexpressible satisfaction2 both its weariness and its refreshment were sweet to me4 ,this earth was the most glorious musical instrument1 and ,i was audience to its strains4 ,to have such sweet impressions made on us1 such ecstasies begotten of the breezes6 ,i can remember how ,i was astonished4 ,i said to myself1--,i said to others1--8,there comes into my mind such an indescribable1 infinite1 all-absorbing1 divine1 heavenly pleasure1 a sense of elevation and expansion1 and ,i have had nought to do with it4 ,i perceive that ,i am dealt with by superior powers4#bcd ,this is a pleasure1 a joy1 an existence which ,i have not procured myself4 ,i speak as a witness on the stand1 and tell what ,i have perceived40 ,the morning and the evening were sweet to me1 and ,i led a life aloof from society of men4 ,i wondered if a mortal had ever known what ,i knew4 ,i looked in books for some recognition of a kindred experience1 but1 strange to say1 ,i found none4 ,indeed1 ,i was slow to discover that other men had had this experience1 for it had been possible to read books and to associate with men on other grounds4 ,the maker of me was improving me4 ,when ,i detected this interference ,i was profoundly moved4 ,for years ,i marched as to a music in comparison with which the military music of the streets is noise and discord4 ,i was daily intoxicated1 and yet no man could call me intemperate4 ,with all your science can you tell how it is1 and whence it is1 that light comes into the soul8 ,set out at #c ,p4 ,m4 for ,nine-,acre ,corner ,bridge via ,hubbard's ,bridge and ,conantum1 returning via ,dashing ,brook1 rear of ,baker's1 and railroad at #f4cj ,p4 ,m4 ,the song sparrow1 the most familiar and ,new ,england bird1 is heard in fields and pastures1 setting this midsummer day to music1 as if it were the music of a mossy rail or fence post2 a little stream of song1 cooling1 rippling through the noon1--the usually unseen songster usually unheard like the cricket1 it is so common1--like the poet's song1 unheard by most men1 whose ears are stopped with business1 though perchance it sang on the fence before the farmer's house this morning for an hour4 ,there are little strains of poetry in our animals4 ,berries are just beginning to ripen1 and children are planning expeditions after them4 ,they are important as introducing children to the fields and woods1 and as wild fruits of which much account is made4 ,during the berry season the schools have a vacation1 and many little fingers are busy picking these small fruits4 ,it is ever a pastime1 not a drudgery4 ,i remember how glad ,i was when ,i was kept from school a half a day to pick huckleberries on a neighboring hill all by myself to make a pudding for the family dinner4 ,ah1 they got nothing but the pudding1 but ,i got invaluable experience beside6 ,a half a day of liberty like that was like the promise of life eternal4 ,it was emancipation in ,new ,england4 ,o1 what a day was there1 my countrymen6 ,i see the yellow butterflies now gathered in fleets in the road1 and on the flowers of the milkweed 7,asclepias pulchra7 by the roadside1 a really handsome flower2 also the smaller butterfly1 with reddish wings1 and a larger1 black or steel-blue1 with wings spotted red on edge1 and one of equal size1 reddish copper-colored4 ,now you may see a boy stealing after one1 hat in hand4 ,the earliest corn begins to tassel out1 and my neighbor has put his hand in the hill some days ago and abstracted some new potatoes as big as nuts1 then covered up again4 ,now they will need--or will get--no more weeding4 ,the lark sings in the meadow2 the very essence of the afternoon is in his strain4 ,this is a ,new ,england sound1 but the cricket is heard under all sounds4 ,still the cars come and go with the regularity of nature1 of the sun and moon4 7,if a hen puts her eggs elsewhere than in the barns1--in woods or among rocks1--she is said to steal her nest67 ,the twittering of swallows is in the air1 reminding me of water4 ,the meadow-sweet is now in bloom1 and the yarrow prevails by all roadsides4 ,i see the hardhack too1 homely but dear plant1 just opening its red clustered flowers4 ,the small aster1 too1 now abounds 7,aster miser71#bce and the tall buttercup still4 ,after wading through a swamp the other day with my shoes in my hand1 ,i wiped my feet with sassafras leaves1 which reminded me of some ,arabian practices1 the bruised leaves perfuming the air and by their softness being adapted to this purpose4 ,the tree-primrose1 or scabish1 still is seen over the fence4 ,the red-wings and crow blackbirds are heard chattering on the trees1 and the cow troopials are accompanying the cows in the pastures for the sake of the insects they scare up4 ,oftentimes the thoughtless sportsman has lodged his charge of shot in the cow's legs or body in his eagerness to obtain the birds4 ,st4 ,john's-wort1 one of the first of yellow flowers1 begins to shine along the roadside4 ,the mullein for some time past4 ,i see a farmer cradling his rye1 ,john ,potter4 ,fields are partly mown1--some ,english grass on the higher parts of the meadow next to the road4 ,the farmer's work comes not all at once4 ,in haying time there is a cessation from other labors to a considerable extent4 ,planting is done1 and hoeing mainly2 only some turnip seed is to be scattered amid the corn4 ,i hear the kingbird twittering or chattering like a stout-chested swallow4 ,the prunella sends back a blue ray from under my feet as ,i walk2 the pale lobelia too4 ,the plaintive1 spring-restoring peep of a bluebird is occasionally heard4 ,i met loads of hay on the road1 which the oxen draw indifferently1 swaggering in their gait1 as if it were not fodder for them4 ,methinks they should testify sometimes that they are working for themselves4 ,the whiteweed is turning black4 ,grapes are half grown and lead the mind forward to autumn4 ,it is an air this afternoon that makes you indifferent to all things1--perfect summer1 but with a comfortable breeziness4 ,you know not heat nor cold4 ,what season of the year is this8 ,the balls of the button-bush are half formed1 with its fine1 glossy1 red-stemmed leaf atoning for its nakedness in the spring4 ,my eye ranges over green fields of oats1 for which there is a demand then somewhere4 ,the wild rose peeps from amid the alders and other shrubs by the roadside4 ,the elder-blow fills the air with its scent4 ,the angelica1 with its large umbels1 is gone to seed4 ,on it ,i find one of those slow-moving green worms1 with rings spotted black and yellow1 like an ,east ,indian production4 ,what if these grew as large as elephants8 ,the honest and truly fair is more modestly colored4 ,notwithstanding the drifting clouds1 you fear no rain to-day4 ,as you walk1 you smell some sweet herbage1 but detect not what it is4 ,hay is sticking to the willows and the alders on the causeway1 and the bridge is sprinkled with it4 ,the hemlock 7,cicuta ,americana7 displays its white umbels now4 ,the yellow lilies reign in the river4 ,the painted tortoises drop off the willow stumps as you go over the bridge4 ,the river is now so low that you can see its bottom1 shined on by the sun1 and travellers stop to look at fishes as they go over1 leaning on the rails4 ,the pickerel-weed sends up its heavenly blue4 ,the color of the cows on ,fair ,haven ,hill1 how fair a contrast to the hillside6 ,how striking and wholesome their clean brick-red6 ,when were they painted8 ,how carelessly the eye rests on them1 or passes them by as things of course6 ,the tansy is budded4 ,the devil's-needles seem to rest in air over the water4 ,there is nothing ,new-,english about them4 ,now1 at #d ,p4 ,m41 ,i hear the pewee in the woods1 and the cuckoo reminds me of some silence among the birds ,i had not noticed4 ,the vireo 7red-eyed87 sings like a robin at even1 incessantly1--for ,i have now turned into ,conant's woods4 ,the oven-bird helps fill some pauses4 ,the poison sumach shows its green berries1 now unconscious of guilt4 ,the heart-leaved loosestrife 7,lysimachia ciliata7 is seen in low open woods4 ,the breeze displays the white under sides of the oak leaves and gives a fresh and flowing look to the woods4 ,the river is a dark-blue winding stripe amid the green of the meadow4 ,what is the color of the world8 ,green mixed with yellowish and reddish for hills and ripe grass1 and darker green for trees and forests2 blue spotted with dark and white for sky and clouds1 and dark blue for water4 ,beyond the old house ,i hear the squirrel chirp in the wall like a sparrow2 so ,nature merges her creations into one4 ,i am refreshed by the view of ,nobscot and the southwestern vales1 from ,conantum1 seething with the blue element4 ,here comes a small bird with a ricochet flight and a faint twittering note like a messenger from ,elysium4 ,the rush sparrow jingles her small change1 pure silver1 on the counter of the pasture4 ,from far ,i see the rye stacked up4 ,a few dead trees impart the effect of wildness to the landscape1 though it is a feature rare in an old settled country4 ,methinks this is the first of dog-days4 ,the air in the distance has a peculiar blue mistiness1 or furnace-like look1 though1 as ,i have said1 it is not sultry yet4 ,it is not the season for distant views4 ,mountains are not clearly blue now4 ,the air is the opposite to what it is in ,october and ,november4 ,you are not inclined to travel4 ,it is a world of orchards and small-fruits now1 and you can stay at home if the well has cool water in it4 ,the black thimble-berry is an honest1 homely berry1 now drying up as usual4 ,i used to have a pleasant time stringing them on herd's-grass stems1 tracing the wall-sides for them4 ,it is pleasant to walk through these elevated fields1 terraced upon the side of the hill so that the eye of the walker looks off into the blue cauldron of the air at his own level4 ,here the haymakers have just gone to tea1--at #e o'clock1 the farmer's hour1 before the afternoon is ended1 while he still thinks much work may still be done before night4 ,he does not wait till he is strongly reminded of the night4 ,in the distance some burdened fields are black with haycocks4 ,some thoughtless and cruel sportsman has killed twenty-two young partridges not much bigger than robins1 against the laws of ,massachusetts and humanity4 ,at the ,corner ,bridge the white lilies are budded4 ,green apples are now so large as to remind me of coddling and the autumn again4#bcf ,the season of fruits is arrived4 ,the dog's-bane has a pretty1 delicate bell-like flower4 ,the ,jersey tea abounds4 ,i see the marks of the scythes in the fields1 showing the breadth of each swath the mowers cut4 ,cool springs are now a desideratum4 ,the geranium still hangs on4 ,even the creeping vines love the brooks1 and ,i see where one slender one has struggled down and dangles into the current1 which rocks it to and fro4 ,filberts are formed1 and you may get the berry stains out of your hands with their husks1 if you have any4 ,nightshade is in blossom4 ,came through the pine plains behind ,james ,baker's1 where late was open pasture1 now open pitch pine woods1 only here and there the grass has given place to a carpet of pine-needles4 ,these are among our pleasantest woods1--open1 level1 with blackberry vines interspersed and flowers1 as lady's-slippers1 earlier1 and pinks on the outskirts4 ,each tree has room enough4 ,and now ,i hear the wood thrush from the shade1 who loves these pine woods as well as ,i4 ,i pass by ,walden's scalloped shore4 ,the epilobium reflects a pink gleam up the vales and down the hills4 ,the chewink jingles on a bush's top4 ,why will the ,irishman drink of a puddle by the railroad instead of digging a well8 ,how shiftless6 ,what death in life6 ,he cannot be said to live who does not get pure water4 ,the milkweeds1 or silkweeds1 are rich flowers1 now in blossom4 ,the ,asclepias syriaca1 or common milkweed2 its buds fly open at a touch4 ,but handsomer much is ,asclepias pulchra1 or water silkweed4 ,the thin green bark of this last1 and indeed of the other1 is so strong that a man cannot break a small strip of it by pulling4 ,it contains a mass of fine silken fibres1 arranged side by side like the strings of a fiddle-bow1 and may be bent short without weakening it4 99 99 99 99 99 ,what more glorious condition of being can we imagine than from impure to be becoming pure8 ,it is almost desirable to be impure that we may be the subject of this improvement4 ,that ,i am innocent to myself6 ,that ,i love and reverence my life6 ,that ,i am better fitted for a lofty society to-day than ,i was yesterday6 ,to make my life a sacrament6 ,what is nature without this lofty tumbling8 ,may ,i treat myself with more and more respect and tenderness4 ,may ,i not forget that ,i am impure and vicious4 ,may ,i not cease to love purity4 ,may ,i go to my slumbers as expecting to arise to a new and more perfect day4 ,may ,i so live and refine my life as fitting myself for a society ever higher than ,i actually enjoy4 ,may ,i treat myself tenderly as ,i would treat the most innocent child whom ,i love2 may ,i treat children and my friends as my newly discovered self4 ,let me forever go in search of myself2 never for a moment think that ,i have found myself2 be as a stranger to myself1 never a familiar1 seeking acquaintance still4 ,may ,i be to myself as one is to me whom ,i love1 a dear and cherished object4 ,what temple1 what fane1 what sacred place can there be but the innermost part of my own being8 ,the possibility of my own improvement1 that is to be cherished4 ,as ,i regard myself1 so ,i am4 ,o my dear friends1 ,i have not forgotten you4 ,i will know you to-morrow4 ,i associate you with my ideal self4 ,i had ceased to have faith in myself4 ,i thought ,i was grown up and become what ,i was intended to be1 but it is earliest spring with me4 ,in relation to virtue and innocence the oldest man is in the beginning spring and vernal season of life4 ,it is the love of virtue makes us young ever4 ,that is the fountain of youth1 the very aspiration after the perfect4 ,i love and worship myself with a love which absorbs my love for the world4 ,the lecturer suggested to me that ,i might become better than ,i am4 ,was it not a good lecture1 then8 ,may ,i dream not that ,i shunned vice2 may ,i dream that ,i loved and practiced virtue4 ,july #ah4 ,it is a test question affecting the youth of a person1--,have you knowledge of the morning8 ,do you sympathize with that season of nature8 ,are you abroad early1 brushing the dews aside8 ,if the sun rises on you slumbering1 if you do not hear the morning cock-crow1 if you do not witness the blushes of ,aurora1 if you are not acquainted with ,venus as the morning star1 what relation have you to wisdom and purity8 ,you have then forgotten your ,creator in the days of your youth6 ,your shutters were darkened till noon6 ,you rose with a sick headache6 ,in the morning sing1 as do the birds4 ,what of those birds which should slumber on their perches till the sun was an hour high8 ,what kind of fowl would they be and new kind of bats and owls1--hedge sparrows or larks8 then took a dish of tea or hot coffee before they began to sing8 ,i might have added to the list of ,july #afth the ,aralia hispida1 bristling aralia2 the heart-leaved loosestrife 7,lysimachia ciliata72 also the upright loosestrife 7,l4 racemosa71 with a rounded terminal raceme2 the tufted vetch 7,vicia cracca74 ,sweet-gale fruit now green4 ,i first heard the locust sing1 so dry and piercing1 by the side of the pine woods in the heat of the day4 ,july #ai4 ,here ,i am thirty-four years old1#bcg and yet my life is almost wholly unexpanded4 ,how much is in the germ6 ,there is such an interval between my ideal and the actual in many instances that ,i may say ,i am unborn4 ,there is the instinct for society1 but no society4 ,life is not long enough for one success4 ,within another thirty-four years that miracle can hardly take place4 ,methinks my seasons revolve more slowly than those of nature2 ,i am differently timed4 ,i am contented4 ,this rapid revolution of nature1 even of nature in me1 why should it hurry me8 ,let a man step to the music which he hears1 however measured4 ,is it important that ,i should mature as soon as an apple tree8 aye1 as soon as an oak8 ,may not my life in nature1 in proportion as it is supernatural1 be only the spring and infantile portion of my spirit's life8 ,shall ,i turn my spring to summer8 ,may ,i not sacrifice a hasty and petty completeness here to entireness there8 ,if my curve is large1 why bend it to a smaller circle8 ,my spirit's unfolding observes not the pace of nature4 ,the society which ,i was made for is not here4 ,shall ,i1 then1 substitute for the anticipation of that this poor reality8 ,i would rather have the unmixed expectation of that than this reality4 ,if life is a waiting1 so be it4 ,i will not be shipwrecked on a vain reality4 ,what were any reality which ,i can substitute8 ,shall ,i with pains erect a heaven of blue glass over myself1 though when it is done ,i shall be sure to gaze still on the true ethereal heaven far above1 as if the former were not1--that still distant sky o'er-arching that blue expressive eye of heaven8#bch ,i am enamored of the blue-eyed arch of heaven4 ,i did not make this demand for a more thorough sympathy4 ,this is not my idiosyncrasy or disease4 ,he that made the demand will answer the demand4 ,my blood flows as slowly as the waves of my native ,musketaquid2 yet they reach the ocean sooner1 perchance1 than those of the ,nashua4 ,already the goldenrod is budded1 but ,i can make no haste for that4 #b ,p4 ,m4--,the weather is warm and dry1 and many leaves curl4 ,there is a threatening cloud in the southwest4 ,the farmers dare not spread their hay4 ,it remains cocked in the fields4 ,as you walk in the woods nowadays1 the flies striking against your hat sound like rain-drops4 ,the stump or root fences on the ,corner road remind me of fossil remains of mastodons1 etc41 exhumed and bleached in sun and rain4 ,to-day ,i met with the first orange flower of autumn4 ,what means this doubly torrid1 this ,bengal1 tint8 ,yellow took sun enough1 but this is the fruit of a dog-day sun4 ,the year has but just produced it4 ,here is the ,canada thistle in bloom1 visited by butterflies and bees4 ,the butterflies have swarmed within these few days1 especially about the milkweeds4 ,the swamp-pink still fills the air with its perfume in swamps and by the causeways1 though it is far gone4 ,the wild rose still scatters its petals over the leaves of neighboring plants4 ,the wild morning-glory or bindweed1 with its delicate red and white blossoms4 ,i remember it ever as a goblet full of purest morning air and sparkling with dew1 showing the dew-point1 winding round itself for want of other support4 ,it grows by the ,hubbard ,bridge causeway1 near the angelica4 ,the cherry-birds are making their seringo sound as they flit past4 ,they soon find out the locality of the cherry trees4 ,and beyond the bridge there is a goldenrod partially blossomed4 ,yesterday it was spring1 and to-morrow it will be autumn4 ,where is the summer then8 ,first came the ,st4 ,john's-wort and now the goldenrod to admonish us4 ,i hear1 too1 a cricket amid these stones under the blackberry vines1 singing as in the fall4 ,ripe blackberries are multiplying4 ,i see the red-spotted berries of the small ,solomon's-seal in my path4 ,i notice1 in the decayed end of an oak post1 that the silver grain is not decayed1 but remains sound in thin flakes1 alternating with the decayed portions and giving the whole a honeycombed look4 ,such an object supramundane1 as even a swallow may descend to light on1 a dry mullein stalk for instance4 ,i see that hens1 too1 follow the cows feeding near the house1 like the cow troopial1 and for the same object4 ,they cannot so well scare up insects for themselves4 ,this is the dog the cowbird uses to start up its insect game4 ,i see yellow butterflies in pairs1 pursuing each other a rod or two into the air1 and now1 as he had bethought himself of the danger of being devoured by a passing bird1 he descends with a zigzag flight to the earth1 and the other follows4 ,the black huckleberries are now so thick among the green ones that they no longer incur suspicion of being worm-eaten4 ,when formerly ,i was looking about to see what ,i could do for a living1 some sad experience in conforming to the wishes of friends being fresh in my mind to tax my ingenuity1 ,i thought often and seriously of picking huckleberries2 that surely ,i could do1 and its small profits might suffice1 so little capital it required1 so little distraction from my wonted thoughts1 ,i foolishly thought4 ,while my acquaintances went unhesitatingly into trade or the professions1 ,i thought of this occupation as most like theirs2 ranging the hills all summer to pick the berries which came in my way1 which ,i might carelessly dispose of2 so to keep the flocks of ,king ,admetus4 ,my greatest skill has been to want but little4 ,i also dreamed that ,i might gather the wild herbs1 or carry evergreens to such villagers as loved to be reminded of the woods and so find my living got4 ,but ,i have since learned that trade curses everything it handles2 and though you trade in messages from heaven1 the whole curse of trade attaches to the business4#bci ,the wind rises more and more4 ,the river and the pond are blacker than the threatening cloud in the south4 ,the thunder mutters in the distance4 ,the surface of the water is slightly rippled4 ,where the pads grow is a light green border4 ,the woods roar4 ,small white clouds are hurrying across the dark-blue ground of the storm1 which rests on all the woods of the south horizon4 ,but still no rain now for some hours1 as if the clouds were dissipated as fast as they reached this atmosphere4 ,the barberry's fruit hangs yellowish-green4 ,what pretty covers the thick bush makes1 so large and wide and drooping6 ,the ,fringilla juncorum sings still1 in spite of the coming tempest1 which1 perchance1 only threatens4 ,the woodchuck is a good native of the soil4 ,the distant hillside and the grain-fields and pastures are spotted yellow or white with his recent burrows1 and the small mounds remain for many years4 ,here where the clover has lately been cut1 see what a yellow mound is brought to light6 ,illustration ,heavily hangs the common yellow lily 7,lilium ,canadense7 in the meadows4 ,in the thick alder copses by the causeway-side ,i find the ,lysimachia hybrida4 ,here is the ,lactuca sanguinea with its runcinate leaves1 tall stem1 and pale-crimson ray4 ,and that green-stemmed one higher than my head1 resembling the last in its leaves1 is perchance the 8tall lettuce10 or fireweed4 ,can that fine white-flowered meadow-plant with the leaf be a thalictrum8 ,july #bj4 ,sunday morning4 ,a thunder-shower in the night4 ,thunder near at hand1 though louder1 is a more trivial and earthly sound than at a distance2 likened to sounds of men4 ,the clap which waked me last night was as if some one was moving lumber in an upper apartment1 some vast hollow hall1 tumbling it down and dragging it over the floor2 and ever and anon the lightning filled the damp air with light1 like some vast glow-worm in the fields of ether opening its wings4 ,the river1 too1 steadily yields its crop4 ,in louring days it is remarkable how many villagers resort to it4 ,it is of more worth than many gardens4 ,i meet one1 late in the afternoon1 going to the river with his basket on his arm and his pole in hand1 not ambitious to catch pickerel this time1 but he thinks he may perhaps get a mess of small fish4 ,these sic kind of values are real and important1 though but little appreciated1 and he is not a wise legislator who underrates them and allows the bridges to be built low so as to prevent the passage of small boats4 ,the town is but little conscious how much interest it has in the river1 and might vote it away any day thoughtlessly4 ,there is always to be seen either some unshaven wading man1 an old mower of the river meadows1 familiar with water1 vibrating his long pole over the lagoons of the off-shore pads1 or else some solitary fisher1 in a boat behind the willows1 like a mote in the sunbeams reflecting the light2 and who can tell how many a mess of river fish is daily cooked in the town8 ,they are an important article of food to many a poor family4 ,some are poets1 some are not1--as in relation to getting a living1 so to getting a wife4 ,as their ideals of life vary1 so do their ideals of love4 #d ,p4 ,m4 ,annursnack4--,the under sides of the leaves1 exposed by the breeze1 give a light bluish tinge to the woods as ,i look down on them4 ,looking at the woods west of this hill1 there is a grateful dark shade under their eastern sides1 where they meet the meadows1 their cool night side1--a triangular segment of night1 to which the sun has set4 ,the mountains look like waves on a blue ocean tossed up by a stiff gale4 ,the ,rhexia ,virginica is in bloom4 ,july #ba4 #h ,a4 ,m4--,the forenoon is fuller of light4 ,the butterflies on the flowers look like other and frequently larger flowers themselves4 ,now ,i yearn for one of those old1 meandering1 dry1 uninhabited roads1 which lead away from towns1 which lead us away from temptation1 which conduct to the outside of earth1 over its uppermost crust2 where you may forget in what country you are travelling2 where no farmer can complain that you are treading down his grass1 no gentleman who has recently constructed a seat in the country that you are trespassing2 on which you can go off at half-cock and wave adieu to the village2 along which you may travel like a pilgrim1 going nowhither2 where travellers are not too often to be met2 where my spirit is free2 where the walls and fences are not cared for2 where your head is more in heaven than your feet are on earth2 which have long reaches where you can see the approaching traveller half a mile off and be prepared for him2 not so luxuriant a soil as to attract men2 some root and stump fences which do not need attention2 where travellers have no occasion to stop1 but pass along and leave you to your thoughts2 where it makes no odds which way you face1 whether you are going or coming1 whether it is morning or evening1 mid-noon or midnight2 where earth is cheap enough by being public2 where you can walk and think with least obstruction1 there being nothing to measure progress by2 where you can pace when your breast is full1 and cherish your moodiness2 where you are not in false relations with men1 are not dining nor conversing with them2 by which you may go to the uttermost parts of the earth4 ,it is wide enough1 wide as the thoughts it allows to visit you4 ,sometimes it is some particular half-dozen rods which ,i wish to find myself pacing over1 as where certain airs blow2 then my life will come to me1 methinks2 like a hunter ,i walk in wait for it4 ,when ,i am against this bare promontory of a huckleberry hill1 then forsooth my thoughts will expand4 ,is it some influence1 as a vapor which exhales from the ground1 or something in the gales which blow there1 or in all things there brought together agreeably to my spirit8 ,the walls must not be too high1 imprisoning me1 but low1 with numerous gaps4 ,the trees must not be too numerous1 nor the hills too near1 bounding the view1 nor the soil too rich1 attracting the attention to the earth4 ,it must simply be the way and the life1--a way that was never known to be repaired1 nor to need repair1 within the memory of the oldest inhabitant4 ,i cannot walk habitually in those ways that are liable to be mended2 for sure it was the devil only that wore them4 ,never by the heel of thinkers 7of thought7 were they worn2 the zephyrs could repair that damage4 ,the saunterer wears out no road1 even though he travel on it1 and therefore should pay no highway1 or rather low way1 tax4 ,he may be taxed to construct a higher way than men travel4 ,a way which no geese defile1 nor hiss along it1 but only sometimes their wild brethren fly far overhead2 which the kingbird and the swallow twitter over1 and the song sparrow sings on its rails2 where the small red butterfly is at home on the yarrow1 and no boys threaten it with imprisoning hat4 ,there ,i can walk and stalk and pace and plod4 ,which nobody but ,jonas ,potter travels beside me2 where no cow but his is tempted to linger for the herbage by its side2 where the guide-board is fallen1 and now the hand points to heaven significantly1--to a ,sudbury and ,marlborough in the skies4 ,that's a road ,i can travel1 that the particular ,sudbury ,i am bound for1 six miles an hour1 or two1 as you please2 and few there be that enter thereon4 ,there ,i can walk1 and recover the lost child that ,i am without any ringing of a bell2 where there was nothing ever discovered to detain a traveller1 but all went through about their business2 where ,i never passed the time of day with any1--indifferent to me were the arbitrary divisions of time2 where ,tullus ,hostilius might have disappeared1--at any rate has never been seen4 ,the road to the ,corner6 the ninety and nine acres that you go through to get there6 ,i would rather see it again1 though ,i saw it this morning1 than ,gray's churchyard4 ,the road whence you may hear a stake-driver1 a whip-poor-will1 a quail in a midsummer day1 a--yes1 a quail comes nearest to the gum-c#bdj bird heard there2 where it would not be sport for a sportsman to go4 ,and the mayweed looks up in my face1--not there2 the pale lobelia1 the ,canada snapdragon1 rather4 ,a little hardhack and meadowsweet peep over the fence1--nothing more serious to obstruct the view1--and thimble-berries are the food of thought1 before the drought1 along by the walls4#bda ,it is they who go to ,brighton and to market that wear out the roads1 and they should pay all the tax4 ,the deliberate pace of a thinker never made a road the worse for travelling on4 ,there ,i have freedom in my thought1 and in my soul am free4 ,excepting the omnipresent butcher with his calf-cart1 followed by a distracted and anxious cow4#bdb ,be it known that in ,concord1 where the first forcible resistance to ,british aggression was made in the year #agge1 they chop up the young calves and give them to the hens to make them lay1 it being considered the cheapest and most profitable food for them1 and they sell the milk to ,boston4 ,on the promenade deck of the world1 an outside passenger4 ,the inattentive1 ever strange baker1 whom no weather detains1 that does not bake his bread in this hemisphere1--and therefore it is dry before it gets here4 ,ah6 there is a road where you might advertise to fly1 and make no preparations till the time comes2 where your wings will sprout if anywhere1 where your feet are not confined to earth4 ,an airy head makes light walking4 ,where ,i am not confined and balked by the sight of distant farmhouses which ,i have not gone past4 ,in roads the obstructions are not under my feet1--,i care not for rough ground or wet even1--but they are in my vision and in the thoughts or associations which ,i am compelled to entertain4 ,i must be fancy-free2 ,i must feel that1 wet or dry1 high or low1 it is the genuine surface of the planet1 and not a little chip-dirt or a compost-heap1 or made land or redeemed4 ,where ,i can sit by the wall-side and not be peered at by any old ladies going a-shopping1 not have to bow to one whom ,i may have seen in my youth1--at least1 not more than once4 ,i am engaged and cannot be polite4 ,did you ever hear of such a thing as a man sitting in the road1 and then have four eyes levelled at you8 ,have we any more right sometimes to look at one than to point a revolver at him2 it might go off2 and so1 perchance1 we might see him1--though there is not so much danger of that1--which would be equally fatal1 if it should ever happen1 though perhaps it never has4 ,a thinker's weight is in his thought1 not in his tread2 when he thinks freely1 his body weighs nothing4 ,he cannot tread down your grass1 farmers4#bdc ,i thought to walk this forenoon instead of this afternoon1 for ,i have not been in the fields and woods much of late except when surveying1 but the least affair of that kind is as if you had a black veil drawn over your face which shut out nature1 as that eccentric and melancholy minister whom ,i have heard of4#bdd ,it may be the fairest day in all the year and you shall not know it4 ,one little chore to do1 one little commission to fulfill1 one message to carry1 would spoil heaven itself4 ,talk about a lover being engaged6 ,he is the only man in all the world who is free4 ,and all you get is your dollars4 ,to go forth before the heat is intolerable1 and see what is the difference between forenoon and afternoon4 ,it seems there is a little more coolness in the air2 there is still some dew1 even on this short grass in the shade of the walls and woods2 and a feeling of vigor the walker has4 ,there are few sounds but the slight twittering of swallows1 and the springy note of the sparrow in the grass or trees1 and a lark in the meadow 7now at #h ,a4 ,m471 and the cricket under all to ally the hour to night4 ,day is1 in fact1 about as still as night4 ,draw the veil of night over this landscape1 and these sounds would not disturb nor be inconsistent for their loudness with the night4 ,it is a difference of white and black4 ,nature is in a white sleep4 ,it threatens to be a hot day1 and the haymakers are whetting their scythes in the fields1 where they have been out since #d o'clock4 ,when ,i have seen them in the twilight commencing their labors1 ,i have been impressed as if it were last night4 ,there is something ghastly about such very early labor4 ,i cannot detect the whole and characteristic difference between this and afternoon1 though it is positive and decided enough1 as my instincts know4 ,by #b o'clock it will be warmer and hazier1 obscuring the mountains1 and the leaves will curl1 and the dust will rise more readily4 ,every herb is fresher now1 has recovered from yesterday's drought4 ,the cooler air of night still lingers in the fields1 as by night the warm air of day4 ,the noon is perchance the time to stay in the house4 ,there is no glory so bright but the veil of business can hide it effectually4 ,with most men life is postponed to some trivial business1 and so therefore is heaven4 ,men think foolishly they may abuse and misspend life as they please and when they get to heaven turn over a new leaf4 ,i see the track of a bare human foot in the dusty road1 the toes and muscles all faithfully imprinted4 ,such a sight is so rare that it affects me with surprise1 as the footprint on the shore of ,juan ,fernandez did ,crusoe4 ,it is equally rare here4 ,i am affected as if some ,indian or ,south-,sea-,islander had been along1 some man who had a foot4 ,i am slow to be convinced that any of my neighbors--the judge on the bench1 the parson in the pulpit--might have made that or something like it1 however irregular4 ,it is pleasant as it is to see the tracks of cows and deer and birds4 ,i am brought so much nearer to the tracker--when again ,i think of the sole of my own foot--than when ,i behold that of his shoe merely1 or am introduced to him and converse with him in the usual way4 ,i am disposed to say to the judge whom ,i meet1 8,make tracks40 ,men are very generally spoiled by being so civil and well-disposed4 ,you can have no profitable conversation with them1 they are so conciliatory1 determined to agree with you4 ,they exhibit such long-suffering and kindness in a short interview4 ,i would meet with some provoking strangeness1 so that we may be guest and host and refresh one another4 ,it is possible for a man wholly to disappear and be merged in his manners4 ,the thousand and one gentlemen whom ,i meet1 ,i meet despairingly and but to part from them1 for ,i am not cheered by the hope of any rudeness from them4 ,a cross man1 a coarse man1 an eccentric man1 a silent1 a man who does not drill well1--of him there is some hope4 ,your gentlemen1 they are all alike4 ,they utter their opinions as if it was not a man that uttered them4 ,it is 8just as you please20 they are indifferent to everything4 ,they will talk with you for nothing4 ,the interesting man will rather avoid you1 and it is a rare chance if you get so far as talk with him4 ,the laborers whom ,i know1 the loafers1 fishers1 and hunters1 ,i can spin yarns with profitably1 for it is hands off2 they are they and ,i am ,i still2 they do not come to me and quarter themselves on me for a day or an hour to be treated politely1 they do not cast themselves on me for entertainment1 they do not approach me with a flag of truce4 ,they do not go out of themselves to meet me4 ,i am never electrified by my gentleman2 he is not an electric eel1 but one of the common kind that slip through your hands1 however hard you clutch them1 and leave them covered with slime4 ,he is a man1 every inch of him2 is worth a groom4 ,to eat berries on the dry pastures of ,conantum1 as if they were the food of thought1 dry as itself6 ,berries are now thick enough to pick4 99 99 99 99 99 #i ,a4 ,m4 ,on ,conantum4--,a quarter of a mile is distance enough to make the atmosphere look blue now4 ,this is never the case in spring or early summer4 ,it was fit that ,i should see an indigo-bird here1 concerned about its young1 a perfect embodiment of the darkest blue that ever fills the valleys at this season4 ,the meadow-grass reflecting the light has a bluish cast also4 ,remember thy ,creator in the days of thy youth2 i4 e41 lay up a store of natural influences4 ,sing while you may1 before the evil days come4 ,he that hath ears1 let him hear4 ,see1 hear1 smell1 taste1 etc41 while these senses are fresh and pure4 ,there is always a kind of fine olian harp music to be heard in the air4 ,i hear now1 as it were1 the mellow sound of distant horns in the hollow mansions of the upper air1 a sound to make all men divinely insane that hear it1 far away overhead1 subsiding into my ear4 ,to ears that are expanded what a harp this world is6 ,the occupied ear thinks that beyond the cricket no sound can be heard1 but there is an immortal melody that may be heard morning1 noon1 and night1 by ears that can attend1 and from time to time this man or that hears it1 having ears that were made for music4 ,to hear this the hardhack and the meadow-sweet aspire4 ,they are thus beautifully painted1 because they are tinged in the lower stratum of that melody4 ,i eat these berries as simply and naturally as thoughts come to my mind4 ,never yet did ,i chance to sit in a house1 except my own house in the woods1 and hear a wood thrush sing4 ,would it not be well to sit in such a chamber within sound of the finest songster of the grove8 ,the quail1 invisible1 whistles1 and who attends8 #aj ,a4 ,m4--,the white lily has opened4 ,how could it stand these heats8 ,it has pantingly opened1 and now lies stretched out by its too long stem on the surface of the shrunken river4 ,the air grows more and more blue1 making pretty effects when one wood is seen from another through a little interval4 ,some pigeons here are resting in the thickest of the white pines during the heat of the day1 migrating1 no doubt4 ,they are unwilling to move for me4 ,flies buzz and rain about my hat1 and the dead twigs and leaves of the white pine1 which the choppers have left here1 exhale a dry and almost sickening scent4 ,a cuckoo chuckles1 half throttled1 on a neighboring tree1 and now1 flying into the pine1 scares out a pigeon1 which flies with its handsome tail spread1 dashes this side and that between the trees helplessly1 like a ship carrying too much sail in midst of a small creek1 some great amiral2 having no room to manuvre1--a fluttering flight4 ,the mountains can scarcely be seen for the blue haze1--only ,wachusett and the near ones4 ,the thorny apple bush on ,conantum has lately sent up branches from its top1 resolved to become a tree2 and these spreading 7and bearing fruit71 the whole has the form of a vast hour-glass4 ,the lower part being the most dense by far1 you would say the sand had run out4#bde ,i now return through ,conant's leafy woods by the spring1 whose floor is sprinkled with sunlight1--low trees which yet effectually shade you4 ,the dusty mayweed now blooms by the roadside1 one of the humblest flowers4 ,the rough hawkweed1 too1 by the damp roadside1 resembling in its flower the autumnal dandelion4 ,that was probably the ,verbena hastata1 or common blue vervain1 which ,i found the other day by ,walden ,pond4 ,the ,antirrhinum ,canadense1 ,canada snapdragon1 in the ,corner road2 and the ragged orchis on ,conantum4 99 99 99 99 99 #h4cj ,p4 ,m4--,the streets of the village are much more interesting to me at this hour of a summer evening than by day4 ,neighbors1 and also farmers1 come a-shopping after their day's haying1 are chatting in the streets1 and ,i hear the sound of many musical instruments and of singing from various houses4 ,for a short hour or two the inhabitants are sensibly employed4 ,the evening is devoted to poetry1 such as the villagers can appreciate4 ,how rare to meet with a farmer who is a man of sentiment6 ,yet there was one1 ,gen4 ,joshua ,buttrick1 who died the other day1 who is said to have lived in his sentiments4 ,he used to say that the smell of burning powder excited him4 ,it is said that ,mirabeau took to highway robbery 8to ascertain what degree of resolution was necessary in order to place one's self in formal opposition to the most sacred laws of society40 ,he declared that 8a soldier who fights in the ranks does not require half so much courage as a foot-pad40 8,honor and religion have never stood in the way of a well-considered and a firm resolve4#bdf ,tell me1 ,du ,saillant1 when you lead your regiment into the heat of battle1 to conquer a province to which he whom you call your master has no right whatever1 do you consider that you are performing a better action than mine1 in stopping your friend on the king's highway1 and demanding his purse80 8,i obey without reasoning10 replied the count4 8,and ,i reason without obeying1 when obedience appears to me to be contrary to reason10 rejoined ,mirabeau4#bdg ,this was good and manly1 as the world goes2 and yet it was desperate4 ,a saner man would have found opportunities enough to put himself in formal opposition to the most sacred laws of society1 and so test his resolution1 in the natural course of events1 without violating the laws of his own nature4 ,it is not for a man to put himself in such an attitude to society1 but to maintain himself in whatever attitude he finds himself through obedience to the laws of his being1 which will never be one of opposition to a just government4#bdh ,cut the leather only where the shoe pinches4 ,let us not have a rabid virtue that will be revenged on society1--that falls on it1 not like the morning dew1 but like the fervid noonday sun1 to wither it4 ,july #bb4 ,the season of morning fogs has arrived4 ,i think it is connected with dog-days4 ,perhaps it is owing to the greater contrast between the night and the day1 the nights being nearly as cold1 while the days are warmer8 ,before ,i rise from my couch1 ,i see the ambrosial fog stretched over the river1 draping the trees4 ,it is the summer's vapor bath4 ,what purity in the color6 ,it is almost musical2 it is positively fragrant4 ,how faery-like it has visited our fields4 ,i am struck by its firm outlines1 as distinct as a pillow's edge1 about the height of my house4 ,a great crescent over the course of the river from southwest to northeast4 ,already1 #e4cj ,a4 ,m41 some parts of the river are bare4 ,it goes off in a body down the river1 before this air1 and does not rise into the heavens4 ,it retreats1 and ,i do not see how it is dissipated4 ,this slight1 thin vapor which is left to curl over the surface of the still1 dark water1 still as glass1 seems not to be the same thing1--of a different quality4 ,i hear the cockerels crow through it1 and the rich crow of young roosters1 that sound indicative of the bravest1 rudest health1 hoarse without cold1 hoarse with rude health4 ,that crow is all-nature-compelling2 famine and pestilence flee before it4 ,these are our fairest days1 which are born in a fog4 ,i saw the tall lettuce yesterday 7,lactuca elongata71 whose top or main shoot had been broken off1 and it had put up various stems1 with entire and lanceolate1 not runcinate leaves as usual1 thus making what some botanists have called a variety1 4 linearis4 ,so ,i have met with some geniuses who1 having met with some such accident maiming them1 have been developed in some such monstrous and partial1 though original1 way4 ,they were original in being less than themselves4 ,yes1 your leaf is peculiar1 and some would make of you a distinct variety1 but to me you appear like the puny result of an accident and misfortune1 for you have lost your main shoot1 and the leaves which would have grown runcinate are small and lanceolate4 ,the last ,sunday afternoon ,i smelled the clear pork frying for a farmer's supper thirty rods off 7what a ,sunday supper671 the windows being open1 and could imagine the clear tea without milk which usually accompanies it4 ,now the cat-o'-nine-tails are seen in the impenetrable meadows1 and the tall green rush is perfecting its tufts4 ,the spotted polygonum 7,p4 ,persicaria7 by the roadside4 ,i scare up a woodcock from some moist place at midday4 ,the pewee and kingbird are killing bees1 perched on a post or a dead twig4 ,i bathe me in the river4 ,i lie down where it is shallow1 amid the weeds over its sandy bottom2 but it seems shrunken and parched2 ,i find it difficult to get wet through4 ,i would fain be the channel of a mountain brook4 ,i bathe1 and in a few hours ,i bathe again1 not remembering that ,i was wetted before4 ,when ,i come to the river1 ,i take off my clothes and carry them over1 then bathe and wash off the mud and continue my walk4 ,i would fain take rivers in my walks endwise4 ,there was a singular charm for me in those ,french names1--more than in the things themselves4 ,the names of ,italian and ,grecian cities1 villages1 and natural features are not more poetic to me than the names of those humble ,canadian villages4 ,to be told by a habitant1 when ,i asked the name of a village in sight1 that is ,st4 ,frol or ,st4 ,anne's6 ,but ,i was quite taken off my feet when1 running back to inquire what river we were crossing1 and thinking for a long time he said la rivire d'ocan1 it flashed upon me at last that it was ,la ,rivire du ,chien4#bdi 99 99 99 99 99 ,there was so much grace and sentiment and refinement in the names1 how could they be coarse who took them so often on their lips1--,st4 ,anne's1 ,st4 ,joseph's2 the holy ,anne's1 the holy ,joseph's6 ,next to the ,indian1 the ,french missionary and voyageur and ,catholic habitant have named the natural features of the land4 ,the prairie1 the voyageur6 ,or does every man think his neighbor is the richer and more fortunate man1 his neighbor's fields the richest8 ,it needed only a little outlandishness in the names1 a little foreign accent1 a few more vowels in the words1 to make me locate all my ideals at once4 ,how prepared we are for another world than this6 ,we are no sooner over the line of the ,states than we expect to see men leading poetic lives1--nothing so natural1 that is the presumption4 ,the names of the mountains1 and the streams1 and the villages reel with the intoxication of poetry--,longueuil1 ,chambly1 ,barthillon 7871 ,montilly 7874#bej ,where there were books only1 to find realities4 ,of course we assign to the place the idea which the written history or poem suggested4 ,quebec1 of course1 is never seen for what it simply is to practical eyes1 but as the local habitation of those thoughts and visions which we have derived from reading of ,wolfe and ,montcalm1 ,montgomery and ,arnold4 ,it is hard to make me attend to the geology of ,cape ,diamond or the botany of the ,plains of ,abraham4#bea ,how glad we are to find that there is another race of men6 for they may be more successful and fortunate than we4 ,canada is not a place for railroads to terminate in1 or for criminals to run to4#beb ,july #bc4 ,wednesday4 ,i remember the last moon1 shining through a creamy atmosphere1 with a tear in the eye of ,nature and her tresses dishevelled and drooping1 sliding up the sky1 the glistening air1 the leaves shining with dew1 pulsating upward2 an atmosphere unworn1 unprophaned by day4 ,what self-healing in ,nature6--swept by the dews4 ,for some weeks past the roadsides and the dry and trivial fields have been covered with the field trefoil 7,trifolium arvense71 now in bloom4 99 99 99 99 99 #h ,a4 ,m4--,a comfortable breeze blowing4 ,methinks ,i can write better in the afternoon1 for the novelty of it1 if ,i should go abroad this morning4 ,my genius makes distinctions which my understanding cannot1 and which my senses do not report4 ,if ,i should reverse the usual1--go forth and saunter in the fields all the forenoon1 then sit down in my chamber in the afternoon1 which it is so unusual for me to do1--it would be like a new season to me1 and the novelty of it would inspire me4 ,the wind has fairly blown me outdoors2 the elements were so lively and active1 and ,i so sympathized with them1 that ,i could not sit while the wind went by4 ,and ,i am reminded that we should especially improve the summer to live out-of-doors4 ,when we may so easily1 it behooves us to break up this custom of sitting in the house1 for it is but a custom1 and ,i am not sure that it has the sanction of common sense4 ,a man no sooner gets up than he sits down again4 ,fowls leave their perch in the morning1 and beasts their lairs1 unless they are such as go abroad only by night4 ,the cockerel does not take up a new perch in the barn1 and he is the embodiment of health and common sense4 ,is the literary man to live always or chiefly sitting in a chamber through which nature enters by a window only8 ,what is the use of the summer8 ,you must walk so gently as to hear the finest sounds1 the faculties being in repose4 ,your mind must not perspire4 ,true1 out of doors my thought is commonly drowned1 as it were1 and shrunken1 pressed down by stupendous piles of light ethereal influences1 for the pressure of the atmosphere is still fifteen pounds to a square inch4 ,i can do little more than preserve the equilibrium and resist the pressure of the atmosphere4 ,i can only nod like the rye-heads in the breeze4 ,i expand more surely in my chamber1 as far as expression goes1 as if that pressure were taken off2 but here outdoors is the place to store up influences4 ,the swallow's twitter is the sound of the lapsing waves of the air1 or when they break and burst1 as his wings represent the ripple4 ,he has more air in his bones than other birds2 his feet are defective4 ,the fish of the air4 ,his note is the voice of the air4 ,as fishes may hear the sound of waves lapsing on the surface and see the outlines of the ripples1 so we hear the note and see the flight of swallows4 ,the influences which make for one walk more than another1 and one day more than another1 are much more ethereal than terrestrial4 ,it is the quality of the air much more than the quality of the ground that concerns the walker1--cheers or depresses him4 ,what he may find in the air1 not what he may find on the ground4 ,on such a road 7the ,corner7 ,i walk securely1 seeing far and wide on both sides1 as if ,i were flanked by light infantry on the hills1 to rout the provincials1 as the ,british marched into ,concord1 while my grenadier thoughts keep the main road4 ,that is1 my light-armed and wandering thoughts scour the neighboring fields1 and so ,i know if the coast is clear4 ,with what a breadth of van ,i advance6 ,i am not bounded by the walls4 ,i think more than the road full4 7,going southwesterly47 ,while ,i am abroad1 the ovipositors plant their seeds in me2 ,i am fly-blown with thought1 and go home to hatch and brood over them4 ,i was too discursive and rambling in my thought for the chamber1 and must go where the wind blows on me walking4 ,a little brook crossing the road 7the ,corner road71 a few inches' depth of transparent water rippling over yellow sand and pebbles1 the pure blood of nature4 ,how miraculously crystal-like1 how exquisite1 fine1 and subtle1 and liquid this element1 which an imperceptible inclination in the channel causes to flow thus surely and swiftly6 ,how obedient to its instinct1 to the faintest suggestion of the hills6 ,if inclined but a hair's breadth1 it is in a torrent haste to obey4 ,and all the revolutions of the planet--nature is so exquisitely adjusted--and the attraction of the stars do not disturb this equipoise1 but the rills still flow the same way1 and the water levels are not disturbed4 ,we are not so much like debauchees as in the afternoon4 ,the mind is subject to moods1 as the shadows of clouds pass over the earth4 ,pay not too much heed to them4 ,let not the traveller stop for them4 ,they consist with the fairest weather4 ,by the mood of my mind1 ,i suddenly felt dissuaded from continuing my walk1 but ,i observed at the same instant that the shadow of a cloud was passing over the spot on which ,i stood1 though it was of small extent1 which1 if it had no connection with my mood1 at any rate suggested how transient and little to be regarded that mood was4 ,i kept on1 and in a moment the sun shone on my walk within and without4 ,the button-bush in blossom4 ,the tobacco-pipe in damp woods4 ,certain localities only a few rods square in the fields and on the hills1 sometimes the other side of a wall1 attract me as if they had been the scene of pleasure in another state of existence4 ,but this habit of close observation1--in ,humboldt1 ,darwin1 and others4 ,is it to be kept up long1 this science8 ,do not tread on the heels of your experience4 ,be impressed without making a minute of it4 ,poetry puts an interval between the impression and the expression1--waits till the seed germinates naturally4 ,july #bd4 #e ,a4 ,m4--,the street and fields betray the drought and look more parched than at noon2 they look as ,i feel1--languid and thin and feeling my nerves4 ,the potatoes and the elms and the herbage by the roadside1 though there is a slight dew1 seem to rise out of an arid and thirsty soil into the atmosphere of a furnace slightly cooled down4 ,the leaves of the elms are yellow4 ,ah6 now ,i see what the noon was and what it may be again4 ,the effects of drought are never more apparent than at dawn4 ,nature is like a hen panting with open mouth1 in the grass1 as the morning after a debauch4 ,july #be4 ,friday4 ,started for ,clark's ,island at #g ,a4 ,m4 ,at #i ,a4 ,m4 took the ,hingham boat and was landed at ,hull4 ,there was a pleasure party on board1 apparently boys and girls belonging to the ,south ,end1 going to ,hingham4 ,there was a large proportion of ill-dressed and ill-mannered boys of ,irish extraction4 ,a sad sight to behold6 ,little boys of twelve years1 prematurely old1 sucking cigars6 ,i felt that if ,i were their mothers ,i should whip them and send them to bed4 ,such children should be dealt with as for stealing or impurity4 ,the opening of this valve for the safety of the city6 ,oh1 what a wretched resource6 ,what right have parents to beget1 to bring up1 and attempt to educate children in a city8 ,i thought of infanticide among the ,orientals with complacency4 ,i seemed to hear infant voices lisp1 8,give us a fair chance1 parents40 ,there is no such squalidness in the country4 ,you would have said that they must all have come from the house of correction and the farm-school1 but such a company do the boys in ,boston streets make4 ,the birds have more care for their young1--where they place their nests4 ,what are a city's charities8 ,she cannot be charitable any more than the old philosopher could move the earth1 unless she has a resting-place without herself4 ,a true culture is more possible to the savage than to the boy of average intellect1 born of average parents1 in a great city4 ,i believe that they perish miserably4 ,how can they be kept clean1 physically or morally8 ,it is folly to attempt to educate children within a city2 the first step must be to remove them out of it4 ,it seemed a groping and helpless philanthropy that ,i heard of4 ,i heard a boy telling the story of ,nix's ,mate to some girls1 as we passed that spot1 how 8he said1 #8,if ,i am guilty1 this island will remain2 but if ,i am innocent1 it will be washed away1' and now it is all washed away40#bec ,this was a simple and strong expression of feeling suitable to the occasion1 by which he committed the evidence of his innocence to the dumb isle1 such as the boy could appreciate1 a proper sailor's legend2 and ,i was reminded that it is the illiterate and unimaginative class that seizes on and transmits the legends in which the more cultivated delight4 ,no fastidious poet dwelling in ,boston had tampered with it1--no narrow poet1 but broad mankind1 sailors from all ports sailing by4 ,they1 sitting on the deck1 were the literary academy that sat upon its periods4 ,on the beach at ,hull1 and afterwards all along the shore to ,plymouth1 ,i saw the datura1 the variety 7red-stemmed71 methinks1 which some call ,tatula instead of ,stramonium4 ,i felt as if ,i was on the highway of the world1 at sight of this cosmopolite and veteran traveller4 ,it told of commerce and sailors' yarns without end4 ,it grows luxuriantly in sand and gravel4 ,this ,captain ,cook among plants1 this ,norseman or sea pirate1 viking or king of the bays1 the beaches4 ,it is not an innocent plant2 it suggests commerce1 with its attendant vices4#bed ,saw a public house where ,i landed at ,hull1 made like some barns which ,i have seen1 of boards with a cleat nailed over the cracks1 without clapboards or paint1 evidently very simple and cheap1 yet neat and convenient as well as airy4 ,it interested me1 as the ,new ,house at ,long ,island did not1 as it brought the luxury and comfort of the seashore within reach of the less wealthy4 ,it was such an exhibition of good sense as ,i was not prepared for and do not remember to have seen before4 ,ascended to the top of the hill1 where is the old ,french fort1 with the well said to be ninety feet deep1 now covered4#bee ,i saw some horses standing on the very top of the ramparts1 the highest part of ,hull1 where there was hardly room to turn round1 for the sake of the breeze4#bef ,it was excessively warm1 and their instincts1 or their experience perchance1 guided them as surely to the summit as it did me4 ,here is the telegraph1 nine miles from ,boston1 whose ,state-,house was just visible1--movable signs on a pole with holes in them for the passage of the wind4 ,a man about the telegraph station thought it the highest point in the harbor2 said they could tell the kind of vessel thirty miles off1 the number at masthead ten or twelve miles1 name on hull six or seven miles4 ,they can see furthest in the fall4 ,there is a mist summer and winter1 when the contrast between the temperature of the sea and the air is greatest4 ,i did not see why this hill should not be fortified as well as ,george's ,island1 it being higher and also commanding the main channel4 ,however1 an enemy could go by all the forts in the dark1 as ,wolfe did at ,quebec4#beg ,they are bungling contrivances4 ,illustrations ,here the bank is rapidly washing away4 ,on every side1 in ,boston ,harbor1 the evidences of the wasting away of the islands are so obvious and striking that they appear to be wasting faster than they are4 ,you will sometimes see a springing hill1 showing by the interrupted arch of its surface against the sky how much space it must have occupied where there is now water1 as at ,point ,allerton1--what botanists call premorse4 ,hull looks as if it had been two islands1 since connected by a beach4 ,i was struck by the gracefully curving and fantastic shore of a small island 7,hog ,island7 inside of ,hull1 where everything seemed to be gently lapsing into futurity1 as if the inhabitants should bear a ripple for device on their coat-of-arms1 a wave passing over them1 with the datura growing on their shores4 ,the wrecks of isles fancifully arranged into a new shore4 ,to see the sea nibbling thus voraciously at the continents6#beh ,a man at the telegraph told me of a white oak pole a foot and a half in diameter1 forty feet high1 and four feet or more in the rock at ,minot's ,ledge1 with four guys1 which stood only one year4 ,stone piled up cob-fashion near same place stood eight years4 ,hull pretty good land1 but bare of trees--only a few cherries for the most part--and mostly uncultivated1 being owned by few4 ,i heard the voices of men shouting aboard a vessel half a mile from the shore1 which sounded as if they were in a barn in the country1 they being between the sails4 ,it was not a sea sound4 ,it was a purely rural sound4#bei ,man needs to know but little more than a lobster in order to catch him in his traps4 ,here were many lobster traps on the shore4 ,the beds of dry seaweed or eel-grass on the beach remind me of narrow shavings4 ,on the farther hill in ,hull1 ,i saw a field full of ,canada thistles close up to the fences on all sides1 while beyond them there was none4 ,so much for these fields having been subjected to different culture4 ,so a different culture in the case of men brings in different weeds4 ,as are the virtues1 so are the vices4 ,weeds come in with the seeds1 though perhaps much more in the manure4 ,each kind of culture will introduce its own weeds4 ,i am bothered to walk with those who wish to keep step with me4 ,it is not necessary to keep step with your companion1 as some endeavor to do4 ,they told me at ,hull that they burned the stem of the kelp chiefly for potash4 ,chemistry is not a splitting hairs when you have got half a dozen raw ,irishmen in the laboratory4 ,as ,i walked on the beach 7,nantasket71 panting with thirst1 a man pointed to a white spot on the side of a distant hill 7,strawberry ,hill he called it7 which rose from the gravelly beach1 and said that there was a pure and cold and unfailing spring2 and ,i could not help admiring that in this town of ,hull1 of which ,i had heard1 but now for the first time saw1 a single spring should appear to me and should be of so much value4 ,i found ,hull indeed1 but there was also a spring on that parched1 unsheltered shore2 the spring1 though ,i did not visit it1 made the deepest impression on my mind4 ,hull1 the place of the spring and of the well4 ,this is what the traveller would remember4 ,all that he remembered of ,rome was a spring on the ,capitoline ,hill6#bfj 99 99 99 99 99 ,it is the most perfect seashore ,i have seen4#bfa ,the rockweed falls over you like the tresses of mermaids1 and you see the propriety of that epithet4 ,you cannot swim among these weeds and pull yourself up by them without thinking of mermen and mermaids4 ,the barnacles on the rocks1 which make a whitish strip a few feet in width just above the weeds1 remind me of some vegetable growth which ,i have seen1--surrounded by a circle of calyx-like or petal-like shells like some buds or seed-vessels4 ,they1 too1 clinging to the rocks like the weeds2 lying along the seams of the rock like buttons on a waistcoat4 ,i saw in ,cohasset1 separated from the sea only by a narrow beach1 a very large and handsome but shallow lake1 of at least four hundred acres1 with five rocky islets in it2 which the sea had tossed over the beach in the great storm in the spring1 and1 after the alewives had passed into it1 stopped up its outlet2 and now the alewives were dying by thousands1 and the inhabitants apprehended a pestilence as the water evaporated4 ,the water was very foul4#bfb ,the rockweed is considered the best for manure4 ,i saw them drying the ,irish moss in quantities at ,jerusalem ,village in ,cohasset4 ,it is said to be used for sizing calico4 ,finding myself on the edge of a thunder-storm1 ,i stopped a few moments at the ,rock ,house in ,cohasset1 close to the shore4 ,there was scarcely rain enough to wet one1 and no wind4 ,i was therefore surprised to hear afterward1 through a young man who had just returned from ,liverpool1 that there was a severe squall at quarantine ground1 only seven or eight miles northwest of me1 such as he had not experienced for three years1 which sunk several boats and caused some vessels to drag their anchors and come near going ashore2 proving that the gust which struck the water there must have been of very limited breadth1 for ,i was or might have been overlooking the spot and felt no wind4 ,this rocky shore is called ,pleasant ,cove on large maps2 on the map of ,cohasset alone1 the name seems to be confined to the cove where ,i first saw the wreck of the ,st4 ,john alone4#bfc ,brush ,island1 opposite this1 with a hut on it1 not permanently inhabited4 ,it takes but little soil to tempt men to inhabit such places4 ,i saw here the ,american holly 7,ilex opaca71 which is not found further north than ,massachusetts1 but south and west4 ,the yellow gerardia in the woods4 ,july #bf4 ,at ,cohasset4--,called on ,captain ,snow1 who remembered hearing fishermen say that they 8fitted out at ,thoreau's20 remembered him4 ,he had commanded a packet between ,boston or ,new ,york and ,england4 ,spoke of the wave which he sometimes met on the ,atlantic coming against the wind1 and which indicated that the wind was blowing from an opposite quarter at a distance1 the undulation travelling faster than the wind4 ,they see ,cape ,cod loom here4 ,thought the ,bay between here and ,cape ,ann thirty fathoms deep2 between here and ,cape ,cod1 sixty or seventy fathoms4 ,the 8,annual of ,scientific ,discovery0 for #ahea says1 quoting a ,mr4 ,a4 ,g4 ,findley1 8,waves travel very great distances1 and are often raised by distant hurricanes1 having been felt simultaneously at ,st4 ,helena and ,ascension1 though #fjj miles apart1 and it is probable that ground swells often originate at the ,cape of ,good ,hope1 #cjjj miles distant40 ,sailors tell of tide-rips4 ,some are thought to be occasioned by earthquakes4 ,the ocean at ,cohasset did not look as if any were ever shipwrecked in it4 ,not a vestige of a wreck left4 ,it was not grand and sublime now1 but beautiful4 ,the water held in the little hollows of the rocks1 on the receding of the tide1 is so crystal-pure that you cannot believe it salt1 but wish to drink it4#bfd ,the architect of a ,minot ,rock lighthouse might profitably spend a day studying the worn rocks of ,cohasset shore1 and learn the power of the waves1 see what kind of sand the sea is using to grind them down4 ,a fine delicate seaweed1 which some properly enough call sea-green4 ,saw here the staghorn1 or velvet1 sumach 7,rhus typhina71 so called from form of young branches1 a size larger than the ,rhus glabra common with us4 ,the ,plantago maritima1 or sea plantain1 properly named4 ,i guessed its name before ,i knew what it was called by botanists4 ,the ,american sea-rocket 7,bunias edentula7 ,i suppose it was that ,i saw1--the succulent plant with much cut leaves and small pinkish 787 flowers4 ,july #bg4 ,sunday4 ,walked from ,cohasset to ,duxbury and sailed thence to ,clark's ,island4 ,visited the large tupelo tree 7,nyssa multiflora7 in ,scituate1 whose rounded and open top1 like some umbelliferous plant's1 ,i could see from ,mr4 ,sewal's1 the tree which ,george ,emerson went twenty-five miles to see1 called sometimes snag-tree and swamp hornbeam1 also pepperidge and gum-tree4 ,hard to split4 ,we have it in ,concord4 ,cardinal-flower in bloom4 ,scituate meeting-houses on very high ground2 the principal one a landmark for sailors4 ,saw the buckthorn1 which is naturalized4 ,one of ,marshfield meeting-houses on the height of land on my road4 ,the country generally descends westerly toward the sources of ,taunton ,river4 ,after taking the road by ,webster's beyond ,south ,marshfield1 ,i walked a long way at noon1 hot and thirsty1 before ,i could find a suitable place to sit and eat my dinner1--a place where the shade and the sward pleased me4 ,at length ,i was obliged to put up with a small shade close to the ruts1 where the only stream ,i had seen for some time crossed the road4 ,here1 also1 numerous robins came to cool and wash themselves and to drink4 ,they stood in the water up to their bellies1 from time to time wetting their wings and tails and also ducking their heads and sprinkling the water over themselves2 then they sat on a fence near by to dry4 ,then a goldfinch came and did the same1 accompanied by the less brilliant female4 ,these birds evidently enjoyed their bath greatly1 and it seemed indispensable to them4 ,a neighbor of ,webster's told me that he had hard on to sixteen hundred acres and was still buying more1--a farm and factory within the year2 cultivated a hundred and fifty acres4 ,i saw twelve acres of potatoes together1 the same of rye and wheat1 and more methinks of buckwheat4 ,fifteen or sixteen men1 ,irish mostly1 at ten dollars a month1 doing the work of fifty1 with a ,yankee overseer1 long a resident of ,marshfield1 named ,wright4 ,would eat only the produce of his farm during the few weeks he was at home1--brown bread and butter and milk1--and sent out for a pig's cheek to eat with his greens4 ,ate only what grew on his farm1 but drank more than ran on his farm4 ,took refuge from the rain at a ,mr4 ,stetson's in ,duxbury4 ,i forgot to say that ,i passed the ,winslow ,house1 now belonging to ,webster4 ,this land was granted to the family in #afcg4 ,sailed with tavern-keeper ,winsor1 who was going out mackereling4 ,seven men1 stripping up their clothes1 each bearing an armful of wood and one some new potatoes1 walked to the boats1 then shoved them out a dozen rods over the mud1 then rowed half a mile to the schooner of forty-three tons4 ,they expected to be gone about a week1 and to begin to fish perhaps the next morning4 ,fresh mackerel which they carried to ,boston4 ,had four dories1 and commonly fished from them4 ,else they fished on the starboard side aft1 where their lines hung ready with the old baits on1 two to a man4 ,i had the experience of going on a mackerel cruise4 ,they went aboard their schooner in a leisurely way this ,sunday evening1 with a fair but very slight wind1 the sun now setting clear and shining on the vessel after several thunder-showers4 ,i was struck by the small quantity of supplies which they appeared to take4 ,we climbed aboard1 and there we were in a mackerel schooner4 ,the baits were not dry on the hooks4 ,winsor cast overboard the foul juice of mackerels mixed with rain-water which remained in his trough4 ,there was the mill in which to grind up the mackerel for bait1 and the trough to hold it1 and the long-handled dipper to cast it overboard with2 and already in the harbor we saw the surface rippled with schools of small mackerel4 ,they proceeded leisurely to weigh anchor1 and then to raise their two sails4 ,there was one passenger1 going for health or amusement1 who had been to ,california4 ,i had the experience of going a-mackereling1 though ,i was landed on an island before we got out of the harbor4 ,they expected to commence fishing the next morning4 ,it had been a very warm day with frequent thunder-showers4 ,i had walked from ,cohasset to ,duxbury1 and had walked about the latter town to find a passage to ,clark's ,island1 about three miles distant1 but no boat could stir1 they said1 at that state of the tide4#bfe ,the tide was down1 and boats were left high and dry4 ,at length ,i was directed to ,winsor's tavern1 where perchance ,i might find some mackerel-fishers1 who were going to sail that night to be ready for fishing in the morning1 and1 as they would pass near the island1 they would take me4 ,i found it so4 ,winsor himself was going4 ,i told him he was the very man for me2 but ,i must wait an hour4 ,so ,i ate supper with them4 ,then one after another of his crew was seen straggling to the shore1 for the most part in high boots1--some made of india-rubber1--some with their pants stripped up4 ,there were seven for this schooner1 beside a passenger and myself4 ,the leisurely manner in which they proceeded struck me4 ,i had taken off my shoes and stockings and prepared to wade4 ,each of the seven took an armful of pine wood and walked with it to the two boats1 which lay at high-water mark in the mud2 then they resolved that each should bring one more armful and that would be enough4 ,they had already got a barrel of water and had some more in the schooner1 also a bucket of new potatoes4 ,then1 dividing into two parties1 we pulled and shoved the boats a dozen rods over the mud and water till they floated1 then rowed half a mile or more over the shallow water to the little schooner and climbed aboard4 ,many seals had their heads out4 ,we gathered about the helmsman and talked about the compass1 which was affected by the iron in the vessel1 etc41 etc4#bff 99 99 99 99 99 ,illustration ,clark's ,island1 ,sunday night4--,on ,friday night ,december #hth1 ,o4 ,s41 the ,pilgrims1 exploring in the shallop1 landed on ,clark's ,island 7so called from the master's mate of the ,may-,flower71 where they spent three nights and kept their first ,sabbath4 ,on ,monday1 or the #aath1 ,o4 ,s41 they landed on the ,rock4 ,this island contains about eighty-six acres and was once covered with red cedars which were sold at ,boston for gate-posts4 ,i saw a few left1 one1 two feet in diameter at the ground1 which was probably standing when the ,pilgrims came4 ,ed4 ,watson1 who could remember them nearly fifty years1 had observed but little change in them4 ,hutchinson calls this one of the best islands in ,massachusetts ,bay4 ,the town kept it at first as a sacred place1 but finally sold it in #afij to ,samuel ,lucas1 ,elkanah ,watson1 and ,george ,morton4 ,saw a stag's-horn sumach five or six inches in diameter and eighteen feet high4 ,here was the marsh goldenrod 7,solidago lvigata7 not yet in blossom2 a small bluish flower in the marshes1 which they called rosemary2 a kind of chenopodium which appeared distinct from the common2 and a short oval-leaved1 set-looking plant which ,i suppose is ,glaux maritima1 sea milkwort1 or saltwort4 ,skates' eggs1 called in ,england skate-barrows from their form1 on the sand4 ,the old cedars were flat-topped1 spreading1 the stratum of the wind drawn out4 ,july #bh4 ,monday morning4 ,sailed to the ,gurnet1 which runs down seven miles into the bay from ,marshfield4 ,heard the peep of the beach-bird4 ,saw some ring-necks in company with peeps4 ,they told of eagles which had flown low over the island lately4 ,went by ,saquish4 ,gathered a basketful of ,irish moss bleached on the beach4 ,saw a field full of pink-blossomed potatoes at the lighthouse1 remarkably luxuriant and full of blossoms2 also some ,french barley4 ,old fort and barracks by lighthouse4 ,visited lobster houses or huts there1 where they use lobsters to catch bait for lobsters4 ,saw on the shanties signs from ships1 as 8,justice ,story0 and 8,margueritta40 ,to obtain bait is sometimes the main thing4 ,samphire 7,salicornia71 which they pickle2 also a kind of prickly samphire1 which ,i suppose is saltwort1 or ,salsola ,caroliniana4 ,well at ,clark's ,island twenty-seven and three quarters feet deep4 ,cut the rockweed on the rocks at low tide once in two or three years4 ,very valuable2 more than they have time to save4 ,uncle ,ned told of a man who went off fishing from back of ,wellfleet in calm weather1 and with great difficulty got ashore through the surf4 ,those in the other boat1 who had landed1 were unwilling to take the responsibility of telling them when to pull for shore2 the one who had the helm was inexperienced4 ,they were swamped at once4 ,so treacherous is this shore4 ,before the wind comes1 perchance1 the sea may run so as to upset and drown you on the shore4 ,at first they thought to pull for ,provincetown1 but night was coming on1 and that was distant many a long mile4 ,their case was a desperate one4 ,when they came near the shore and saw the terrific breakers that intervened1 they were deterred4 ,they were thoroughly frightened4#bfg ,illustrations ,were troubled with skunks on this island2 they must have come over on the ice4 ,foxes they had seen2 had killed one woodchuck2 even a large mud turtle1 which they conjectured some bird must have dropped4 ,muskrats they had seen1 and killed two raccoons once4 ,i went a-clamming just before night4 ,this the clam-digger1 borrowed of ,uncle ,bill 7,watson7 in his schooner home4 ,the clams nearly a foot deep1 but ,i broke many in digging4 ,said not to be good now1 but we found them good eaten fresh4 ,no sale for them now2 fetch twenty-five cents a bucket in their season4 ,barry caught squids as bait for bass4 ,we found many dead clams1--their shells full of sand1--called sand clams4#bfh ,by a new clam law any one can dig clams here4 ,brown's ,island1 so called1 a shoal off the ,gurnet1 thought to have been an isle once1 a dangerous place4 ,saw here fences1 the posts set in cross sleepers1 made to be removed in winter4 ,the finest music in a menagerie1 its wildest strains1 have something in them akin to the cries of the tigers and leopards heard in their native forests4 ,those strains are not unfitted to the assemblage of wild beasts4 ,they express to my ear what the tiger's stripes and the leopard's spots express to my eye2 and they appear to grin with satisfaction at the sound4 ,that nature has any place at all for music is very good4 ,july #bi4 ,tuesday4 ,a northeast wind with rain1 but the sea is the wilder for it4 ,i heard the surf roar on the ,gurnet in the night1 which1 as ,uncle ,ned and ,freeman said1 showed that the wind would work round east and we should have rainy weather4 ,it was the wave reaching the shore before the wind4 ,the ocean was heaped up somewhere to the eastward1 and this roar was occasioned by its effort to preserve its equilibrium4 ,the rut of the sea4#bfi ,in the afternoon ,i sailed to ,plymouth1 three miles1 notwithstanding the drizzling rain1 or 8drisk10 as ,uncle ,ned called it4 ,we passed round the head of ,plymouth beach1 which is three miles long4 ,i did not know till afterward that ,i had landed where the ,pilgrims did and passed over the ,rock on ,hedge's ,wharf4 ,returning1 we had more wind and tacking to do4 ,saw many seals together on a flat4 ,singular that these strange animals should be so abundant here and yet the man who lives a few miles inland never hear of them4 ,to him there is no report of the sea1 though he may read the ,plymouth paper4 ,the ,boston papers do not tell us that they have seals in the ,harbor4 ,the inhabitants of ,plymouth do not seem to be aware of it4 ,i always think of seals in connection with ,esquimaux or some other outlandish people1 not in connection with those who live on the shores of ,boston and ,plymouth harbors4 ,yet from their windows they may daily see a family of seals1 the real ,phoca vitulina1 collected on a flat or sporting in the waves4 ,i saw one dashing through the waves just ahead of our boat1 going to join his companions on the bar1--as strange to me as the merman4 ,no less wild1 essentially1 than when the ,pilgrims came is this harbor4 ,illustrations ,it being low tide1 we landed on a flat which makes out from ,clark's ,island1 to while away the time1 not being able to get quite up yet4 ,i found numerous large holes of the sea clam in this sand 7no small clams71 and dug them out easily and rapidly with my hands4 ,could have got a large quantity in a short time2 but here they do not eat them2 think they will make you sick4 ,they were not so deep in the sand1 not more than five or six inches4 ,i saw where one had squirted full ten feet before the wind1 as appeared by the marks of the drops on the sand4 ,some small ones ,i found not more than a quarter of an inch in length4 ,le ,baron brought me a round clam or quahog alive1 with a very thick shell1 and not so nearly an isosceles triangle as the sea clam1--more like this3 with a protuberance on the back4 ,the sea clam3 ,a small1 narrow clam which they called the bank clam2 also crab-cases1 handsomely spotted4 ,small crab always in a cockle-shell if not in a case of his own4 ,a cockle as large as my fist4 ,mussels1 small ones1 empty shells2 an extensive bank where they had died4 ,occasionally a large deep-sea mussel1 which some kelp had brought up4 ,we caught some sand eels seven or eight inches long1--,ammodytes tobianus1 according to ,storer1 and not the ,a4 lancea of ,yarrell1 though the size of the last comes nearer4 ,they were in the shallow pools left on the sand 7the flat was here pure naked yellowish sand71 and quickly buried themselves when pursued4 ,they are used as bait for bass4 ,found some sand-circles or sandpaper1 like top of a stone jug cut off1 with a large nose2 said to be made by the foot of the large cockle1 which has some glutinous matter on it4#bgj ,a circle of sand about as thick as thick pasteboard4 ,it reminded me of the caddis-worm cases1 skate-barrows1 etc41 etc4 ,i observed the shell of a sea clam one valve of which was filled exactly even full with sand1--evenly as if it had been heaped and then scraped off1 as when men measure by the peck4 ,this was a fresher one of the myriad sand-clams1 and it suggested to me how the stone clams which ,i had seen on ,cape ,cod might have been formed4 ,perchance a clamshell was the mould in which they were cast1 and a slight hardening of the level surface1 before the whole is turned to stone1 causes them to split in two4 ,the sand was full of stone clams in the mould4#bga ,i saw the kelp attached to stones half as big as my head1 which it had transported4 ,i do not think ,i ever saw the kelp in situ4 ,also attached to a deep-sea mussel4 ,the kelp is like a broad ruffled belt4 ,the middle portion is thicker and flat1 the edges for two or three inches thinner and fuller1 so that it is fulled or ruffled1 as if the edges had been hammered4 ,the extremity is generally worn and ragged from the lashing of the waves4 ,it is the prototype of a fringed belt4 ,uncle ,ned said that the cows ate it4#bgb ,we saw in the shallow water a long1 round green grass1 six or eight feet long1 clogging up the channel4 ,round grass1 ,i think they called it4 ,we caught a lobster1 as you might catch a mud turtle in the country1 in the shallow water1 pushing him ashore with the paddle1 taking hold of his tail to avoid being bitten4 ,they are obliged to put wooden plugs or wedges beside their claws to prevent their tearing each other to pieces4 ,all weeds are bleached on the beach4 ,this sailing on salt water was something new to me4 ,the boat is such a living creature1 even this clumsy one sailing within five points of the wind4 ,the sailboat is an admirable invention1 by which you compel the wind to transport you even against itself4 ,it is easier to guide than a horse2 the slightest pressure on the tiller suffices4 ,i think the inventor must have been greatly surprised1 as well as delighted1 at the success of his experiment4 ,it is so contrary to expectation1 as if the elements were disposed to favor you4 ,this deep1 unfordable sea6 but this wind ever blowing over it to transport you6 ,at #aj ,p4 ,m4 it was perfectly fair and bright starlight4 ,july #cj4 ,wednesday4 ,the house here stands within a grove of balm-of-,gileads1 horse-chestnuts1 cherries1 apples1 and plums1 etc4 ,uncle ,bill1 who lives in his schooner1--not turned up ,numidian fashion1 but anchored in the mud1--whom ,i meant to call on yesterday morn1 lo6 had run over to 8the ,pines0 last evening1 fearing an easterly storm4 ,he outrode the great gale in the spring alone in the harbor1 dashing about4 ,he goes after rockweed1 lighters vessels1 and saves wrecks4 ,now ,i see him lying in the mud over at the ,pines in the horizon1 which place he cannot leave if he will1 till flood-tide2 but he will not1 it seems4 ,this waiting for the tide is a singular feature in the life by the shore4 ,in leaving your boat to-day you must always have reference to what you are going to do the next day4 ,a frequent answer is1 8,well1 you can't start for two hours yet40 ,it is something new to a landsman1 and at first he is not disposed to wait4#bgc ,i saw some heaps of shells left by the ,indians near the northern end of the island4 ,they were a rod in diameter and a foot or more high in the middle1 and covered with a shorter and greener grass than the surrounding field4 ,found one imperfect arrowhead4 ,at #aj ,a4 ,m4 sailed to ,webster's1 past ,powder ,point in ,duxbury4 ,we could see his land from the island4 ,i was steersman and learned the meaning of some nautical phrases1--8luff10 to keep the boat close to the wind till the sails begin to flap2 8bear away10 to put the sail more at right angles with the wind2 a 8close haul10 when the sails are brought and belayed nearly or quite in a line with the vessel4 ,on the marshes we saw patches of a 8black grass40 ,a large field of wheat at ,webster's1--half a dozen acres at least1--many apple trees1 three-thorned acacias1 tulip-trees2 cranberry experiment2 seaweed spread under his tomatoes4 ,wild geese with black and gray heads and necks1 not so heavy and clumsy as the tame ,bremens4 ,large1 noisy ,hongkong geese4 ,handsome calves4 ,three thousand 787 acres of marsh4 ,talked with ,webster's nearest neighbor1 ,captain ,hewit1 whose small farm he surrounds and endeavors in vain to buy4 ,a fair specimen of a retired ,yankee sea-captain turned farmer4 ,proud of the quantity of carrots he had raised on a small patch4 ,it was better husbandry than ,webster's4 ,he told a story of his buying a cargo for his owners at ,st4 ,petersburg just as peace was declared in the last war4 ,these men are not so remarkable for anything as the quality of hardness4 ,the very fixedness and rigidity of their jaws and necks express a sort of adamantine hardness4 ,this is what they have learned by contact with the elements4 ,the man who does not grow rigid with years and experience6 ,where is he8 ,what avails it to grow hard merely8 ,the harder you are1 the more brittle really1 like the bones of the old4 ,how much rarer and better to grow mellow6 ,a sort of stone fruit the man bears commonly2 a bare stone it is1 without any sweet and mellow pericarp around it4 ,it is like the peach which has dried to the stone as the season advanced2 it is dwindled to a dry stone with its almond4 ,in presence of one of these hard men ,i think3 8,how brittle6 ,how easily you would crack6 ,what a poor and lame conclusion60 ,i can think of nothing but a stone in his head4 ,truly genial men do not grow hard4 ,it is the result of despair1 this attitude of resistance4 ,they behave like men already driven to the wall4 ,notwithstanding that the speaker trembles with infirmity while he speaks1--his hand on the spade1--it is such a trembling as betrays a stony nature4 ,his hand trembles so that the full glass of cider which he prizes to a drop will have lost half its contents before it reaches his lips1 as if a tempest had arisen in it4 ,hopelessly hard4 ,but there is another view of him4 ,he is somebody4 ,he has an opinion to express1 if you will wait to hear him4 ,a certain manliness and refreshing resistance is in him4 ,he generally makes ,webster a call1 but ,webster does not want to see you more than twenty minutes4 ,it does not take him long to say all he has got to say4 ,he had not seen him to speak to him since he had come home this time4 ,he had sent him over a couple of fine cod the night before4 ,such a man as ,hewit sees not finely but coarsely4 ,the eagle given by ,lawrence on the hill in the buckwheat field4 ,july #ca4 ,thursday4 ,those same round shells 7,scutella parma 7placenta7 87 on the sand as at ,cape ,cod1 the live ones reddish1 the dead white4 ,went off early this morning with ,uncle ,ned to catch bass with the small fish ,i had found on the sand the night before4 ,two of his neighbor ,albert ,watson's boys were there1--not ,james1 the oldest1 but ,edward1 the sailor1 and ,mortimer 7or ,mort71--in their boat4 ,they killed some striped bass 7,labrax lineatus7 with paddles in a shallow creek in the sand1 and caught some lobsters4 ,i remarked that the seashore was singularly clean1 for1 notwithstanding the spattering of the water and mud and squirting of the clams and wading to and fro the boat1 my best black pants retained no stains nor dirt1 as they would acquire from walking in the country4 ,i caught a bass with a young--haik8 7perchance71 trailing thirty feet behind while ,uncle ,ned paddled4 ,they catch them in ,england with a 8trawl-net40 ,sometimes they weigh seventy-five pounds here4 ,at #aa ,a4 ,m4 set sail to ,plymouth4 ,we went somewhat out of a direct course1 to take advantage of the tide1 which was coming in4 ,saw the site of the first house1 which was burned1 on ,leyden ,street4 ,walked up the same1 parallel with the ,town ,brook4 ,hill from which ,billington ,sea was discovered hardly a mile from the shore1 on ,watson's grounds4 ,watson's ,hill1 where treaty was made across brook south of ,burying ,hill4 ,at ,watson's1#bgd the oriental plane1 ,abies ,douglasii1 ginkgo tree 7q4 v4 on ,common71 a foreign hardhack1 ,english oak 7dark-colored1 small leaf71 ,spanish chestnut1 ,chinese arbor-vit1 ,norway spruce 7like our fir balsam71 a new kind of fir balsam4 ,black eagle one of the good cherries4 ,fuchsias in hothouse4 ,earth bank covered with cement4 ,mr4 ,thomas ,russell1 who cannot be seventy1 at whose house on ,leyden ,street ,i took tea and spent the evening1 told me that he remembered to have seen ,ebenezer ,cobb1 a native of ,plymouth1 who died in ,kingston in #ahja1 aged one hundred and seven1 who remembered to have had personal knowledge of ,peregrine ,white1 saw him an old man riding on horseback 7he lived to be eighty-three74 ,white was born at ,cape ,cod ,harbor before the ,pilgrims got to ,plymouth4 ,c4 ,sturgis's mother told me the same of herself at the same time4 ,she remembered ,cobb sitting in an arm chair like the one she herself occupied1 with his silver locks falling about his shoulders1 twirling one thumb over the other4 ,lyell in first volume1 8,second ,visit10 page #ig1 published #ahdi1bge says3 8,colonel ,perkins1 of ,boston1 444 informed me1 in #ahdf1 that there was but one link wanting in the chain of personal communication between him and ,peregrine ,white1 the first white child born in ,massachusetts1 a few days after the ,pilgrims landed4 ,white lived to an advanced age1 and was known to a man of the name of ,cobb1 whom ,colonel ,perkins visited1 in #ahjg1 with some friends who yet survive4 ,cobb died in #ahjh1 the year after ,colonel ,perkins saw him40 ,illustration3 ,town ,brook1 ,plymouth ,russell told me that he once bought some primitive woodland in ,plymouth which was sold at auction--the biggest pitch pines two feet diameter--for eight shillings an acre4 ,if he had bought enough1 it would have been a fortune4 ,there is still forest in this town which the axe has not touched1 says ,george ,bradford4 ,according to ,thatcher's ,history of ,plymouth1 there were #aa1ffb acres of woodland in #ahca1 or twenty square miles4 ,pilgrims first saw ,billington ,sea about ,january #ast2 visited it ,january #hth4 ,the oldest stone in the ,plymouth ,burying ,ground1 #afha4 7,coles 787 ,hill1 where those who died the first winter were buried1 is said to have been levelled and sown to conceal loss from ,indians47 ,oldest on our hill1 #afgg4 ,in ,mrs4 ,plympton's garden on ,leyden ,street1 running down to ,town ,brook1 saw an abundance of pears1 gathered excellent ,june-eating apples1 saw a large lilac about eight inches diameter4 ,methinks a soil may improve when at length it has shaded itself with vegetation4 ,william ,s4 ,russell1 the registrar at the court-house1 showed the oldest town records1 for all are preserved4 ,on first page a plan of ,leyden ,street dated ,december1 #afbj1 with names of settlers4 ,they have a great many folios4 ,the writing plain4 ,saw the charter granted by the ,plymouth ,company to the ,pilgrims1 signed by ,warwick1 dated #afbi1 and the box in which it was brought over1 with the seal4 ,illustrations ,pilgrim ,hall4 ,they used to crack off pieces of the ,forefathers' ,rock for visitors with a cold chisel1 till the town forbade it4 ,the stone remaining at wharf is about seven feet square4 ,saw two old armchairs that came over in the ,mayflower1 the large picture by ,sargent1 ,standish's sword1 gun-barrel with which ,philip was killed1 mug and pocket-book of ,clark the mate1 iron pot of ,standish1 old pipe-tongs4 ,indian relics3 a flayer2 a pot or mortar of a kind of fire-proof stone1 very hard1 only seven or eight inches long4 ,a commission from ,cromwell to ,winslow 7871 his signature torn off4 ,they talk of a monument on the ,rock4 ,the ,burying ,hill #afe feet high4 ,manomet #cid feet high by ,state map4 ,saw more pears at ,washburn's garden4 ,no graves of ,pilgrims4 ,seaweed generally used along shore4 ,saw the ,prinos glabra1 ink-berry1 at ,billington ,sea4 ,sandy plain with oaks of various kinds cut in less than twenty years4 ,no communication with ,sandwich4 ,plymouth end of world2 fifty miles thither by railroad4 ,old ,colony road poor property4 ,nothing saves ,plymouth but the ,rock4 ,fern-leaved beach4 ,saw the king crab 7,limulus polyphemus71 horseshoe and saucepan fish1 at the ,island1 covered with sea-green and buried in the sand for concealment4 ,in ,plymouth the ,convolvulus arvensis1 small bindweed4 ,,vii ,,august1 #ahea 7,t4 #cd7 ,left ,plymouth at #i ,a4 ,m41 ,august #ast4 ,after ,kingston came ,plympton1 ,halifax1 and ,hanson1 all level with frequent cedar swamps1 especially the last1--also in ,weymouth4 ,desor and ,cabot think the jellyfish ,oceania tubulosa are buds from a polyp of genus ,syncoryne4 ,desor1 accounting for suspended moisture or fogs over sandbanks 7or shoals71 says1 the heat being abstracted by radiation1 the moisture is condensed in form of fog4 ,lieutenant ,walsh lost his lead and wire when #cd1bjj feet1 or more than six statute miles1 had run out perpendicularly4 99 99 99 99 99 ,i could make a list of things ill-managed4 ,we ,yankees do not deserve our fame4 ,viz4 sic3-- ,i went to a menagerie the other day1 advertised by a flaming show-bill as big as a barn-door4 ,the proprietors had taken wonderful pains to collect rare and interesting animals from all parts of the world1 and then placed by them a few stupid and ignorant fellows1 coachmen or stablers1 who knew little or nothing about the animals and were unwilling even to communicate the little they knew4 ,you catch a rare creature1 interesting to all mankind1 and then place the first biped that comes along1 with but a grain more reason in him1 to exhibit and describe the former4 ,at the expense of millions1 this rare quadruped from the sun sic is obtained1 and then ,jack ,halyard or ,tom ,coach-whip is hired to explain it4 ,why all this pains taken to catch in ,africa1 and no pains taken to exhibit in ,america8 ,not a cage was labelled4 ,there was nobody to tell us how or where the animals were caught1 or what they were4 ,probably the proprietors themselves do not know1--or what their habits are4 ,they told me that a hyena came from ,south ,america4 ,but hardly had we been ushered into the presence of this choice1 this admirable collection1 than a ring was formed for ,master ,jack and the pony6 ,were they animals1 then1 who had caught and exhibited these1 and who had come to see these8 ,would it not be worth the while to learn something8 to have some information imparted8 ,the absurdity of importing the behemoth1 and then1 instead of somebody appearing to tell which it is1 to have to while away the time1--though your curiosity is growing desperate to learn one fact about the creature1--to have ,jack and the pony introduced666 ,why1 ,i expected to see some descendant of ,cuvier there1 to improve this opportunity for a lecture on natural history6 ,that is what they should do1--make this an occasion for communicating some solid information4 ,that would be fun alive6 that would be a sunny day1 a sun day1 in one's existence1 not a secular day of ,shetland ponies4 ,not ,jack and his pony and a tintamarre of musical instruments1 and a man with his head in the lion's mouth4 ,first let him prove that he has got a head on his shoulders4 ,i go not there to see a man hug a lion or fondle a tiger1 but to learn how he is related to the wild beast4 ,there'll be ,all-,fools' days enough without our creating any intentionally4 ,the presumption is that men wish to behave like reasonable creatures2 that they do not need1 and are not seeking1 relaxation2 that they are not dissipated4 ,let it be a travelling zological garden1 with a travelling professor to accompany it4 ,at present1 foolishly1 the professor goes alone with his poor painted illustrations of animals1 while the menagerie takes another road1 without its professor1--only its keepers1 stupid coachmen4 ,i4 ,m4 ,june 8 ,co41 or ,van ,amburgh ,co41 are engaged in a pecuniary speculation in which certain wild beasts are used as the counters4 ,cuvier ,co4 are engaged in giving a course of lectures on ,natural ,history4 ,now why could they not put head and means together for the benefit of mankind1 and still get their living8 ,the present institution is imperfect precisely because its object is to enrich ,van ,amburgh ,co41 and their low aim unfits them for rendering any more valuable service2 but no doubt the most valuable course would also be the most valuable in a pecuniary sense4 ,no doubt a low self-interest is a better motive force to these enterprises than no interest at all2 but a high self-interest1 which consists with the greatest advantage of all1 would be a better still4 ,item #bnd3 ,why have we not a decent pocket-map of the ,state of ,massachusetts8 ,there is the large map4 ,why is it not cut into half a dozen sheets and folded into a small cover for the pocket8 ,are there no travellers to use it8 ,well1 to tell the truth1 there are but few1 and that's the reason why4 ,men go by railroad1 and ,state maps hanging in bar-rooms are small enough4 ,the ,state has been admirably surveyed at a great cost1 and yet ,dearborn's ,pocket-,map is the best one we have6 ,aug4 #d4 ,now the hardhack and meadow-sweet reign1 the former one of our handsomest flowers1 ,i think4 ,the mayweed1 too1 dusty by the roadside1 and in the fields ,i scent the sweet-scented life-everlasting1 which is half expanded4 ,the grass is withered by the drought4 ,the potatoes begin generally to flat down4 ,the corn is tasselled out2 its crosses show in all fields above the blades4 ,the turnips are growing in its midst4 ,as my eye rested on the blossom of the meadowsweet in a hedge1 ,i heard the note of an autumnal cricket1 and was penetrated with the sense of autumn4 ,was it sound8 or was it form8 or was it scent8 or was it flavor8 ,it is now the royal month of ,august4 ,when ,i hear this sound1 ,i am as dry as the rye which is everywhere cut and housed1 though ,i am drunk with the season's wine4 ,the farmer is the most inoffensive of men1 with his barns and cattle and poultry and grain and grass4 ,i like the smell of his hay well enough1 though as grass it may be in my way4 ,the yellow ,bethlehem-star still1 and the yellow gerardia1 and a bluish 8savory-leaved aster40 ,aug4 #e4 #g4cj ,p4 ,m4--,moon half full4 ,i sit beside ,hubbard's ,grove4 ,a few level red bars above the horizon2 a dark1 irregular bank beneath them1 with a streak of red sky below1 on the horizon's edge4 ,this will describe many a sunset4 ,it is #h o'clock4 ,the farmer has driven in his cows1 and is cutting an armful of green corn fodder for them4 ,another is still patching the roof of his barn1 making his hammer heard afar in the twilight1 as if he took a satisfaction in his elevated work1--sitting astride the ridge1--which he wished to prolong4 ,the robin utters a sort of cackling note1 as if he had learned the ways of man4 ,the air is still4 ,i hear the voices of loud-talking boys in the early twilight1 it must be a mile off4 ,the swallows go over with a watery twittering4 ,when the moon is on the increase and half full1 it is already in mid-heavens at sunset1 so that there is no marked twilight intervening4 ,i hear the whip-poor-will at a distance1 but they are few of late4 ,it is almost dark4 ,i hear the voices of berry-pickers coming homeward from ,bear ,garden4 ,why do they go home1 as it were defeated by the approaching night8 ,did it never occur to them to stay overnight8 ,the wind now rising from over ,bear ,garden ,hill falls gently on my ear and delivers its message1 the same that ,i have so often heard passing over bare and stony mountain-tops1 so uncontaminated and untamed is the wind4 ,the air that has swept over ,caucasus and the sands of ,arabia comes to breathe on ,new ,england fields4 ,the dogs bark2 they are not as much stiller as man4 ,they are on the alert1 suspecting the approach of foes4 ,the darkness perchance affects them1 makes them mad and wild4 ,the mosquitoes hum about me4 ,i distinguish the modest moonlight on my paper4 ,as the twilight deepens and the moonlight is more and more bright1 ,i begin to distinguish myself1 who ,i am and where2 as my walls contract1 ,i become more collected and composed1 and sensible of my own existence1 as when a lamp is brought into a dark apartment and ,i see who the company are4 ,with the coolness and the mild silvery light1 ,i recover some sanity1 my thoughts are more distinct1 moderated1 and tempered4 ,reflection is more possible while the day goes by4 ,the intense light of the sun unfits me for meditation1 makes me wander in my thought2 my life is too diffuse and dissipated2 routine succeeds and prevails over us2 the trivial has greater power then1 and most at noonday1 the most trivial hour of the twenty-four4 ,i am sobered by the moonlight4 ,i bethink myself4 ,it is like a cup of cold water to a thirsty man4 ,the moonlight is more favorable to meditation than sunlight4 ,the sun lights this world from without1 shines in at a window1 but the moon is like a lamp within an apartment4 ,it shines for us4 ,the stars themselves make a more visible1 and hence a nearer and more domestic1 roof at night4 ,nature broods us1 and has not left our germs of thought to be hatched by the sun4 ,we feel her heat and see her body darkening over us4 ,our thoughts are not dissipated1 but come back to us like an echo4 ,the different kinds of moonlight are infinite4 ,this is not a night for contrasts of light and shade1 but a faint diffused light in which there is light enough to travel1 and that is all4 ,a road 7the ,corner road7 that passes over the height of land between earth and heaven1 separating those streams which flow earthward from those which flow heavenward4 ,ah1 what a poor1 dry compilation is the 8,annual of ,scientific ,discovery60 ,i trust that observations are made during the year which are not chronicled there1--that some mortal may have caught a glimpse of ,nature in some corner of the earth during the year #ahea4 ,one sentence of perennial poetry would make me forget1 would atone for1 volumes of mere science4 ,the astronomer is as blind to the significant phenomena1 or the significance of phenomena1 as the wood-sawyer who wears glasses to defend his eyes from sawdust4 ,the question is not what you look at1 but what you see4 ,i hear now from ,bear ,garden ,hill--,i rarely walk by moonlight without hearing--the sound of a flute1 or a horn1 or a human voice4 ,it is a performer ,i never see by day2 should not recognize him if pointed out2 but you may hear his performance in every horizon4 ,he plays but one strain and goes to bed early1 but ,i know by the character of that single strain that he is deeply dissatisfied with the manner in which he spends his day4 ,he is a slave who is purchasing his freedom4 ,he is ,apollo watching the flocks of ,admetus on every hill1 and this strain he plays every evening to remind him of his heavenly descent4 ,it is all that saves him1--his one redeeming trait4 ,it is a reminiscence2 he loves to remember his youth4 ,he is sprung of a noble family4 ,he is highly related1 ,i have no doubt2 was tenderly nurtured in his infancy1 poor hind as he is4 ,that noble strain he utters1 instead of any jewel on his finger1 or precious locket fastened to his breast1 or purple garments that came with him4 ,the elements recognize him1 and echo his strain4 ,all the dogs know him their master1 though lords and ladies1 rich men and learned1 know him not4 ,he is the son of a rich man1 of a famous man who served his country well4 ,he has heard his sire's stories4 ,i thought of the time when he would discover his parentage1 obtain his inheritance and sing a strain suited to the morning hour4 ,he cherishes hopes4 ,i never see the man by day who plays that clarionet4 ,the distant lamps in the farmhouse look like fires4 ,the trees and clouds are seen at a distance reflected in the river as by day4 ,i see ,fair ,haven ,pond from the ,cliffs1 as it were through a slight mist4 ,it is the wildest scenery imaginable1--a ,lake of the ,woods4 ,i just remembered the wildness of ,st4 ,anne's4 ,that's the ,ultima ,thule of wildness to me4 ,what an entertainment for the traveller1 this incessant motion apparently of the moon traversing the clouds6 ,whether you sit or stand1 it is always preparing new developments for you4 ,it is event enough for simple minds4 ,you all alone1 the moon all alone1 overcoming with incessant victory whole squadrons of clouds above the forests and the lakes and rivers and the mountains4 ,you cannot always calculate which one the moon will undertake next4#bgf ,i see a solitary firefly over the woods4 ,the moon wading through clouds2 though she is eclipsed by this one1 ,i see her shining on a more distant but lower one4 ,the entrance into ,hubbard's ,wood above the spring1 coming from the hill1 is like the entrance to a cave2 but when you are within1 there are some streaks of light on the edge of the path4 ,all these leaves so still1 none whispering1 no birds in motion1--how can ,i be else than still and thoughtful8 ,aug4 #f4 ,the motions of circus horses are not so expressive of music1 do not harmonize so well with a strain of music1 as those of animals of the cat kind4 ,an ,italian has just carried a hand-organ through the village4 ,i hear it even at ,walden ,wood4 ,it is as if a cheeta had skulked1 howling1 through the streets of the village1 with knotted tail1 and left its perfume there4 ,neglected gardens are full of fleabane 787 now1 not yet in blossom4 ,thoroughwort has opened1 and goldenrod is gradually opening4 ,the smooth sumach shows its red fruit4 ,the berries of the bristly aralia are turning dark4 ,the wild holly's scarlet fruit is seen and the red cherry 7,cerasus74 ,after how few steps1 how little exertion1 the student stands in pine woods above the ,solomon's-seal and the cow-wheat1 in a place still unaccountably strange and wild to him1 and to all civilization6 ,this so easy and so common1 though our literature implies that it is rare6 ,we in the country make no report of the seals and sharks in our neighborhood to those in the city4 ,we send them only our huckleberries1 not free wild thoughts4 ,why does not man sleep all day as well as all night1 it seems so very natural and easy8 ,for what is he awake8 ,a man must generally get away some hundreds or thousands of miles from home before he can be said to begin his travels4 ,why not begin his travels at home8 ,would he have to go far or look very closely to discover novelties8 ,the traveller who1 in this sense1 pursues his travels at home1 has the advantage at any rate of a long residence in the country to make his observations correct and profitable4 ,now the ,american goes to ,england1 while the ,englishman comes to ,america1 in order to describe the country4 ,no doubt there are some advantages in this kind of mutual criticism4 ,but might there not be invented a better way of coming at the truth than this scratch-my-back-and-,i'll-scratch-yours method8 ,would not the ,american1 for instance1 who had himself1 perchance1 travelled in ,england and elsewhere make the most profitable and accurate traveller in his own country8 ,how often it happens that the traveller's principal distinction is that he is one who knows less about a country than a native6 ,now if he should begin with all the knowledge of a native1 and add thereto the knowledge of a traveller1 both natives and foreigners would be obliged to read his book2 and the world would be absolutely benefited4 ,it takes a man of genius to travel in his own country1 in his native village2 to make any progress between his door and his gate4 ,but such a traveller will make the distances which ,hanno and ,marco ,polo and ,cook and ,ledyard went over ridiculous4 ,so worthy a traveller as ,william ,bartram heads his first chapter with the words1 8,the author sets sail from ,philadelphia1 and arrives at ,charleston1 from whence he begins his travels40 ,i am1 perchance1 most and most profitably interested in the things which ,i already know a little about2 a mere and utter novelty is a mere monstrosity to me4 ,i am interested to see the yellow pine1 which we have not in ,concord1 though ,michaux says it grows in ,massachusetts2 or the ,oriental plane1 having often heard of it and being well acquainted with its sister1 the ,occidental plane2 or the ,english oak1 having heard of the royal oak and having oaks ourselves2 but the new ,chinese flower1 whose cousin ,i do not happen to know1 ,i pass by with indifference4 ,i do not know that ,i am very fond of novelty4 ,i wish to get a clearer notion of what ,i have already some inkling4 ,these ,italian boys with their hand-organs remind me of the keepers of wild beasts in menageries1 whose whole art consists in stirring up their beasts from time to time with a pole4 ,i am reminded of bright flowers and glancing birds and striped pards of the jungle2 these delicious harmonies tear me to pieces while they charm me4 ,the tiger's musical smile4 ,how some inventions have spread6 ,some1 brought to perfection by the most enlightened nations1 have been surely and rapidly communicated to the most savage4 ,the gun1 for instance4 ,how soon after the settlement of ,america were comparatively remote ,indian tribes1 most of whose members had never seen a white man1 supplied with guns6 ,the gun is invented by the civilized man1 and the savage in remote wildernesses on the other side of the globe throws away his bow and arrows and takes up this arm4 ,bartram1 travelling in the ,southern ,states between #aggj and #aghj1 describes the warriors as so many gun-men4 ,ah1 yes1 even here in ,concord horizon ,apollo is at work for ,king ,admetus6 ,who is ,king ,admetus8 ,it is ,business1 with his four prime ministers ,trade and ,commerce and ,manufactures and ,agriculture4 ,and this is what makes mythology true and interesting to us4 ,aug4 #h4 #g4cj ,p4 ,m4--,to ,conantum4 ,the moon has not yet quite filled her horns4 ,i perceive why we so often remark a dark cloud in the west at and after sunset4 ,it is because it is almost directly between us and the sun1 and hence we see the dark side1 and moreover it is much darker than it otherwise would be1 because of the little light reflected from the earth at that hour4 ,the same cloud at midday and overhead might not attract attention4 ,there is a pure amber sky beneath the present bank1 thus framed off from the rest of the heavens1 which1 with the outlines of small dead elms seen against it1--,i hardly know if far or near1--make picture enough4 ,men will travel far to see less interesting sights than this4 ,turning away from the sun1 we get this enchanting view1 as when a man looks at the landscape with inverted head4 ,under shadow of the dark cloud which ,i have described1 the cricket begins his strain1 his ubiquitous strain4 ,is there a fall cricket distinct from the species we hear in spring and summer8 ,i smell the corn-field over the brook a dozen rods off1 and it reminds me of the green-corn feasts of the ,indians4 ,the evening train comes rolling in1 but none of the passengers jumping out in such haste attend to the beautiful1 fresh picture which ,nature has unrolled in the west and surmounted with that dark frame4 ,the circular platter of the carrot's blossom is now perfect4 ,might not this be called the ,invalid's ,moon1 on account of the warmth of the nights8 ,the principal employment of the farmers now seems to be getting their meadow-hay and cradling some oats1 etc4 ,the light from the western sky is stronger still than that of the moon1 and when ,i hold up my hand1 the west side is lighted while the side toward the moon is comparatively dark4 ,but now that ,i have put this dark wood 7,hubbard's7 between me and the west1 ,i see the moonlight plainly on my paper2 ,i am even startled by it4 ,one star1 too1--is it ,venus8--,i see in the west4 ,starlight6 that would be a good way to mark the hour1 if we were precise4 ,hubbard's ,brook4 ,how much the beauty of the moon is enhanced by being seen shining between two trees1 or even by the neighborhood of clouds6 ,i hear the clock striking eight faintly4 ,i smell the late shorn meadows4 ,one will lose no music by not attending the oratorios and operas4 ,the really inspiring melodies are cheap and universal1 and are as audible to the poor man's son as to the rich man's4 ,listening to the harmonies of the universe is not allied to dissipation4 ,my neighbors have gone to the vestry to hear 8,ned ,kendal10 the bugler1 to-night1 but ,i am come forth to the hills to hear my bugler in the horizon4 ,i can forego the seeming advantages of cities without misgiving4 ,no heavenly strain is lost to the ear that is fitted to hear it1 for want of money or opportunity4 ,i am convinced that for instrumental music all ,vienna cannot serve me more than the ,italian boy who seeks my door with his organ4 ,and now ,i strike the road at the causeway4 ,it is hard1 and ,i hear the sound of my steps1 a sound which should never be heard1 for it draws down my thoughts4 ,it is more like the treadmill exercise4 ,the fireflies are not so numerous as they have been4 ,there is no dew as yet4 ,the planks and railing of ,hubbard's ,bridge are removed4 ,i walk over on the string-pieces1 resting in the middle until the moon comes out of a cloud1 that ,i may see my path1 for between the next piers the string-pieces also are removed and there is only a rather narrow plank1 let down three or four feet4 ,i essay to cross it1 but it springs a little and ,i mistrust myself1 whether ,i shall not plunge into the river4 ,some demonic genius seems to be warning me4 ,attempt not the passage2 you will surely be drowned4 ,it is very real that ,i am thus affected4 ,yet ,i am fully aware of the absurdity of minding such suggestions4 ,i put out my foot1 but ,i am checked1 as if that power had laid a hand on my breast and chilled me back4 ,nevertheless1 ,i cross1 stooping at first1 and gain the other side4 7,i make the most of it on account of the admonition1 but it was nothing to remark on4 ,i returned the same way two hours later and made nothing of it47 ,it is easy to see how1 by yielding to such feelings as this1 men would restablish all the superstitions of antiquity4 ,it is best that reason should govern us1 and not these blind intimations1 in which we exalt our fears into a genius4 ,on ,conantum ,i sit awhile in the shade of the woods and look out on the moonlit fields4 ,white rocks are more remarkable than by day4#bgg ,the air is warmer than the rocks now4 ,it is perfectly warm and ,i am tempted to stay out all night and observe each phenomenon of the night until day dawns4 ,but if ,i should do so1 ,i should not wonder if the town were raised to hunt me up4 ,i could lie out here on this pinnacle rock all night without cold4 ,to lie here on your back with nothing between your eye and the stars1--nothing but space1--they your nearest neighbors on that side1 be they strange or be they tame1 be they other worlds or merely ornaments to this1 who could ever go to sleep under these circumstances8 ,sitting on the door-step of ,conant house at #i o'clock1 ,i hear a pear drop4 ,how few of all the apples that fall do we hear fall6 ,i hear a horse sneeze 787 from time to time in his pasture4 ,he sees me and knows me to be a man1 though ,i do not see him4 ,i hear the nine o'clock bell ringing in ,bedford4 ,an unexpectedly musical sound that of a bell in the horizon always is4 ,pleasantly sounds the voice of one village to another4 ,it is sweet as it is rare4 ,since ,i sat here a bright star has gone behind the stem of a tree1 proving that my machine is moving1--proving it better for me than a rotating pendulum4 ,i hear a solitary whip-poor-will1 and a bullfrog on the river1--fewer sounds than in spring4 ,the gray cliffs across the river are plain to be seen4 ,and now the star appears on the other side of the tree1 and ,i must go4 ,still no dew up here4 ,i see three scythes hanging on an apple tree4 ,there is the wild apple tree where hangs the forgotten scythe1#bgh--the rock where the shoe was left4 ,the woods and the separate trees cast longer shadows than by day1 for the moon goes lower in her course at this season4 ,some dew at last in the meadow4 ,as ,i recross the string-pieces of the bridge1 ,i see the water-bugs swimming briskly in the moonlight4 ,i scent the ,roman wormwood in the potato-fields4 ,aug4 #i4 ,saturday4 ,tansy now in bloom and the fresh white clethra4 ,among the pines and birches ,i hear the invisible locust4 ,as ,i am going to the pond to bathe1 ,i see a black cloud in the northern horizon and hear the muttering of thunder1 and make haste4 ,before ,i have bathed and dressed1 the gusts which precede the tempest are heard roaring in the woods1 and the first black1 gusty clouds have reached my zenith4 ,hastening toward town1 ,i meet the rain at the edge of the wood1 and take refuge under the thickest leaves1 where not a drop reaches me1 and1 at the end of half an hour1 the renewed singing of the birds alone advertises me that the rain has ceased1 and it is only the dripping from the leaves which ,i hear in the woods4 ,it was a splendid sunset that day1 a celestial light on all the land1 so that all people went to their doors and windows to look on the grass and leaves and buildings and the sky1 and it was equally glorious in whatever quarter you looked2 a sort of fulgor as of stereotyped lightning filled the air4 ,of which this is my solution4 ,we were in the westernmost edge of the shower at the moment the sun was setting1 and its rays shone through the cloud and the falling rain4 ,we were1 in fact1 in a rainbow and it was here its arch rested on the earth4 ,at a little distance we should have seen all the colors4 ,the nothera biennis along the railroad now4 ,do the cars disperse seeds8 ,the ,trichostema dichotomum is quite beautiful now in the cool of the morning4 ,the epilobium in the woods still4 ,now the earliest apples begin to be ripe1 but none are so good to eat as some to smell4 ,some knurly apple which ,i pick up in the road reminds me by its fragrance of all the wealth of ,pomona4#bgi ,aug4 #ab4 ,tuesday4 #a4cj ,a4 ,m4--,full moon4 ,arose and went to the river and bathed1 stepping very carefully not to disturb the household1 and still carefully in the street not to disturb the neighbors4 ,i did not walk naturally and freely till ,i had got over the wall4 ,then to ,hubbard's ,bridge at #b ,a4 ,m4 ,there was a whip-poor-will in the road just beyond ,goodwin's1 which flew up and lighted on the fence and kept alighting on the fence within a rod of me and circling round me with a slight squeak as if inquisitive about me4 ,i do not remember what ,i observed or thought in coming hither4 ,the traveller's whole employment is to calculate what cloud will obscure the moon and what she will triumph over4 ,in the after-midnight hours the traveller's sole companion is the moon4 ,all his thoughts are centred in her4 ,she is waging continual war with the clouds in his behalf4 ,what cloud will enter the lists with her next1 this employs his thoughts2 and when she enters on a clear field of great extent in the heavens1 and shines unobstructedly1 he is glad4 ,and when she has fought her way through all the squadrons of her foes1 and rides majestic in a clear sky1 he cheerfully and confidently pursues his way1 and rejoices in his heart4 ,but if he sees that she has many new clouds to contend with1 he pursues his way moodily1 as one disappointed and aggrieved2 he resents it as an injury to himself4 ,it is his employment to watch the moon1 the companion and guide of his journey1 wading through clouds1 and calculate what one is destined to shut out her cheering light4 ,he traces her course1 now almost completely obscured1 through the ranks of her foes1 and calculates where she will issue from them4#bhj ,he is disappointed and saddened when he sees that she has many clouds to contend with4 ,sitting on the sleepers of ,hubbard's ,bridge1 which is being repaired1 now1 #c o'clock ,a4 ,m41 ,i hear a cock crow4 ,how admirably adapted to the dawn is that sound6 as if made by the first rays of light rending the darkness1 the creaking of the sun's axle heard already over the eastern hills4 ,though man's life is trivial and handselled1 ,nature is holy and heroic4 ,with what infinite faith and promise and moderation begins each new day6 ,it is only a little after #c o'clock1 and already there is evidence of morning in the sky4 ,he rejoices when the moon comes forth from the squadrons of the clouds unscathed and there are no more any obstructions in her path1 and the cricket also seems to express joy in his song4 ,it does not concern men who are asleep in their beds1 but it is very important to the traveller1 whether the moon shines bright and unobstructed or is obscured by clouds4 ,it is not easy to realize the serene joy of all the earth when the moon commences to shine unobstructedly1 unless you have often been a traveller by night4#bha ,the traveller also resents it if the wind rises and rustles the leaves or ripples the water and increases the coolness at such an hour4 ,a solitary horse in his pasture was scared by the sudden sight of me1 an apparition to him1 standing still in the moonlight1 and moved about1 inspecting with alarm1 but ,i spoke and he heard the sound of my voice2 he was at once reassured and expressed his pleasure by wagging his stump of a tail1 though still half a dozen rods off4 ,how wholesome the taste of huckleberries1 when now by moonlight ,i feel for them amid the bushes6 ,and now the first signs of morning attract the traveller's attention1 and he cannot help rejoicing1 and the moon begins gradually to fade from his recollection4 ,the wind rises and rustles the copses4 ,the sand is cool on the surface but warm two or three inches beneath1 and the rocks are quite warm to the hand1 so that he sits on them or leans against them for warmth1 though indeed it is not cold elsewhere4#bhb ,as ,i walk along the side of ,fair ,haven ,hill1 ,i see a ripple on the river1 and now the moon has gone behind a large and black mass of clouds1 and ,i realize that ,i may not see her again in her glory this night1 that perchance ere she rises from this obscurity1 the sun will have risen1 and she will appear but as a cloud herself1 and sink unnoticed into the west 7being a little after full 7a day8774 ,as yet no sounds of awakening men2 only the more frequent crowing of cocks1 still standing on their perches in the barns4 ,the milkmen are the earliest risers1--though ,i see no lanthorns carried to their barns in the distance1--preparing to carry the milk of cows in their tin cans for men's breakfasts1 even for those who dwell in distant cities4 ,in the twilight now1 by the light of the stars alone1 the moon being concealed1 they are pressing the bounteous streams from full udders into their milk-pails1 and the sound of the streaming milk is all that breaks the sacred stillness of the dawn2 distributing their milk to such as have no cows4 ,i perceive no mosquitoes now4 ,are they vespertinal1 like the singing of the whip-poor-will8 ,i see the light of the obscured moon reflected from the river brightly4 ,with what mild emphasis ,nature marks the spot6--so bright and serene a sheen that does not more contrast with the night4 #d ,a4 ,m4--,it adds a charm1 a dignity1 a glory1 to the earth to see the light of the moon reflected from her streams4 ,there are but us three1 the moon1 the earth which wears this jewel 7the moon's reflection7 in her crown1 and myself4 ,now there has come round the ,cliff 7on which ,i sit71 which faces the west1 all unobserved and mingled with the dusky sky of night1 a lighter and more ethereal living blue1 whispering of the sun still far1 far away1 behind the horizon4 ,from the summit of our atmosphere1 perchance1 he may already be seen by soaring spirits that inhabit those thin upper regions1 and they communicate the glorious intelligence to us lower ones4 ,the real divine1 the heavenly1 blue1 the ,jove-containing air1 it is1 ,i see through this dusky lower stratum4 ,the sun gilding the summits of the air4 ,the broad artery of light flows over all the sky4 ,yet not without sadness and compassion ,i reflect that ,i shall not see the moon again in her glory4 7,not far from four1 still in the night1 ,i heard a nighthawk squeak and boom1 high in the air1 as ,i sat on the ,cliff4 ,what is said about this being less of a night bird than the whip-poor-will is perhaps to be questioned4 ,for neither do ,i remember to have heard the whip-poor-will sing at #ab o'clock1 though ,i met one sitting and flying between two and three this morning4 ,i believe that both may be heard at midnight1 though very rarely47 ,now at very earliest dawn the nighthawk booms and the whip-poor-will sings4 ,returning down the hill by the path to where the woods are cut off1 ,i see the signs of the day1 the morning red4 ,there is the lurid morning star1 soon to be blotted out by a cloud4 ,there is an early redness in the east which ,i was not prepared for1 changing to amber or saffron1 with clouds beneath in the horizon and also above this clear streak4 ,the birds utter a few languid and yawning notes1 as if they had not left their perches1 so sensible to light to wake so soon1--a faint peeping sound from ,i know not what kind1 a slight1 innocent1 half-awake sound1 like the sounds which a quiet housewife makes in the earliest dawn4 ,nature preserves her innocence like a beautiful child4 ,i hear a wood thrush even now1 long before sunrise1 as in the heat of the day4 ,and the pewee and the catbird and the vireo1 red-eyed8 ,i do not hear--or do not mind1 perchance--the crickets now4 ,now whip-poor-wills commence to sing in earnest1 considerably after the wood thrush4 ,the wood thrush1 that beautiful singer1 inviting the day once more to enter his pine woods4 7,so you may hear the wood thrush and whip-poor-will at the same time47 ,now go by two whip-poor-wills1 in haste seeking some coverts from the eye of day4 ,and the bats are flying about on the edge of the wood1 improving the last moments of their day in catching insects4 ,the moon appears at length1 not yet as a cloud1 but with a frozen light1 ominous of her fate4 ,the early cars sound like a wind in the woods4 ,the chewinks make a business now of waking each other up with their low yorrick in the neighboring low copse4 ,the sun would have shown before but for the cloud4 ,now1 on his rising1 not the clear sky1 but the cheeks of the clouds high and wide1 are tinged with red1 which1 like the sky before1 turns gradually to saffron and then to the white light of day4 ,the nettle-leaved vervain 7,verbena urticifolia7 by roadside at ,emerson's4 ,what we have called hemp answers best to ,urtica dioica1 large stinging nettle8 ,now the great sunflower's golden disk is seen4 ,the days for some time have been sensibly shorter2 there is time for music in the evening4 ,i see polygonums in blossom by roadside1 white and red4 ,a eupatorium from ,hubbard's ,bridge causeway answers to ,e4 purpureum1 except in these doubtful points1 that the former has four leaves in a whorl1 is unequally serrate1 the stem is nearly filled with a thin pith1 the corymb is not merely terminal1 florets eight and nine4 ,differs from verticillatum in the stem being not solid1 and ,i perceive no difference between calyx and corolla in color1 if ,i know what the two are4 ,it may be one of the intermediate varieties referred to4 ,aug4 #ae4 ,friday4 ,hypericum ,canadense1 ,canadian ,st4 ,john's-wort1 distinguished by its red capsules4 ,the petals shine under the microscope1 as if they had a golden dew on them4 ,cnicus pumilus1 pasture thistle4 ,how many insects a single one attracts6 ,while you sit by it1 bee after bee will visit it1 and busy himself probing for honey and loading himself with pollen1 regardless of your overshadowing presence4 ,he sees its purple flower from afar1 and that use there is in its color4 ,oxalis stricta1 upright wood-sorrel1 the little yellow ternate-leaved flower in pastures and corn-fields4 ,sagittaria sagittifolia1 or arrowhead4 ,it has very little root that ,i can find to eat4 ,campanula crinoides1 var4 #bnd1 slender bellflower1 vine-like like a galium1 by brook-side in ,depot ,field4 ,impatiens1 noli-me-tangere1 or touch-me-not1 with its dangling yellow pitchers or horns of plenty1 which ,i have seen for a month by damp causeway thickets1 but the whole plant was so tender and drooped so soon ,i could not get it home4 ,may ,i love and revere myself above all the gods that men have ever invented4 ,may ,i never let the vestal fire go out in my recesses4 ,aug4 #af4 ,agrimonia ,eupatoria1 small-flowered 7yellow7 plant with hispid fruit1 two or three feet high1 ,turnpike1 at ,tuttle's peat meadow4 ,hemp 7,cannabis sativa71 said by ,gray to have been introduced2 not named by ,bigelow4 ,is it not a native8 ,it is true man can and does live by preying on other animals1 but this is a miserable way of sustaining himself1 and he will be regarded as a benefactor of his race1 along with ,prometheus and ,christ1 who shall teach men to live on a more innocent and wholesome diet4 ,is it not already acknowledged to be a reproach that man is a carnivorous animal8#bhc ,aug4 #ag4 ,for a day or two it has been quite cool1 a coolness that was felt even when sitting by an open window in a thin coat on the west side of the house in the morning1 and you naturally sought the sun at that hour4 ,the coolness concentrated your thought1 however4 ,as ,i could not command a sunny window1 ,i went abroad on the morning of the #aeth and lay in the sun in the fields in my thin coat1 though it was rather cool even there4 ,i feel as if this coolness would do me good4 ,if it only makes my life more pensive6 ,why should pensiveness be akin to sadness8 ,there is a certain fertile sadness which ,i would not avoid1 but rather earnestly seek4 ,it is positively joyful to me4 ,it saves my life from being trivial4 ,my life flows with a deeper current1 no longer as a shallow and brawling stream1 parched and shrunken by the summer heats4 ,this coolness comes to condense the dews and clear the atmosphere4 ,the stillness seems more deep and significant4 ,each sound seems to come from out a greater thoughtfulness in nature1 as if nature had acquired some character and mind4 ,the cricket1 the gurgling stream1 the rushing wind amid the trees1 all speak to me soberly yet encouragingly of the steady onward progress of the universe4 ,my heart leaps into my mouth at the sound of the wind in the woods4 ,i1 whose life was but yesterday so desultory and shallow1 suddenly recover my spirits1 my spirituality1 through my hearing4 ,i see a goldfinch go twittering through the still1 louring day1 and am reminded of the peeping flocks which will soon herald the thoughtful season4 ,ah6 if ,i could so live that there should be no desultory moment in all my life6 that in the trivial season1 when small fruits are ripe1 my fruits might be ripe also6 that ,i could match nature always with my moods6 that in each season when some part of nature especially flourishes1 then a corresponding part of me may not fail to flourish6 ,ah1 ,i would walk1 ,i would sit and sleep1 with natural piety6 ,what if ,i could pray aloud or to myself as ,i went along by the brooksides a cheerful prayer like the birds6 ,for joy ,i could embrace the earth2 ,i shall delight to be buried in it4 ,and then to think of those ,i love among men1 who will know that ,i love them though ,i tell them not6 ,i sometimes feel as if ,i were rewarded merely for expecting better hours4 ,i did not despair of worthier moods1 and now ,i have occasion to be grateful for the flood of life that is flowing over me4 ,i am not so poor3 ,i can smell the ripening apples2 the very rills are deep2 the autumnal flowers1 the ,trichostema dichotomum1--not only its bright blue flower above the sand1 but its strong wormwood scent which belongs to the season1--feed my spirit1 endear the earth to me1 make me value myself and rejoice2 the quivering of pigeons' wings reminds me of the tough fibre of the air which they rend4 ,i thank you1 ,god4 ,i do not deserve anything1 ,i am unworthy of the least regard2 and yet ,i am made to rejoice4 ,i am impure and worthless1 and yet the world is gilded for my delight and holidays are prepared for me1 and my path is strewn with flowers4 ,but ,i cannot thank the ,giver2 ,i cannot even whisper my thanks to those human friends ,i have4 ,it seems to me that ,i am more rewarded for my expectations than for anything ,i do or can do4 ,ah1 ,i would not tread on a cricket in whose song is such a revelation1 so soothing and cheering to my ear6 ,oh1 keep my senses pure6 ,and why should ,i speak to my friends8 for how rarely is it that ,i am ,i2 and are they1 then1 they8 ,we will meet1 then1 far away4 ,the seeds of the summer are getting dry and falling from a thousand nodding heads4 ,if ,i did not know you through thick and thin1 how should ,i know you at all8 ,ah1 the very brooks seem fuller of reflections than they were6 ,ah1 such provoking sibylline sentences they are6 ,the shallowest is all at once unfathomable4 ,how can that depth be fathomed where a man may see himself reflected8 ,the rill ,i stopped to drink at ,i drink in more than ,i expected4 ,i satisfy and still provoke the thirst of thirsts4 ,nut ,meadow ,brook where it crosses the road beyond ,jenny ,dugan's that was4 ,i do not drink in vain4 ,i mark that brook as if ,i had swallowed a water snake that would live in my stomach4 ,i have swallowed something worth the while4 ,the day is not what it was before ,i stooped to drink4 ,ah1 ,i shall hear from that draught6 ,it is not in vain that ,i have drunk4 ,i have drunk an arrowhead4 ,it flows from where all fountains rise4 ,how many ova have ,i swallowed8 ,who knows what will be hatched within me8 ,there were some seeds of thought1 methinks1 floating in that water1 which are expanding in me4 ,the man must not drink of the running streams1 the living waters1 who is not prepared to have all nature reborn in him1--to suckle monsters4 ,the snake in my stomach lifts his head to my mouth at the sound of running water4 ,when was it that ,i swallowed a snake8 ,i have got rid of the snake in my stomach4 ,i drank of stagnant waters once4 ,that accounts for it4 ,i caught him by the throat and drew him out1 and had a well day after all4 ,is there not such a thing as getting rid of the snake which you have swallowed when young1 when thoughtless you stooped and drank at stagnant waters1 which has worried you in your waking hours and in your sleep ever since1 and appropriated the life that was yours8 ,will he not ascend into your mouth at the sound of running water8 ,then catch him boldly by the head and draw him out1 though you may think his tail be curled about your vitals4 ,the farmers are just finishing their meadow-haying4 7,to-day is ,sunday47 ,those who have early potatoes may be digging them1 or doing any other job which the haying has obliged them to postpone4 ,for six weeks or more this has been the farmer's work1 to shave the surface of the fields and meadows clean4 ,this is done all over the country4 ,the razor is passed over these parts of nature's face the country over4 ,a thirteenth labor which methinks would have broken the back of ,hercules1 would have given him a memorable sweat1 accomplished with what sweating of scythes and early and late6 ,i chance to know one young man who has lost his life in this season's campaign1 by overdoing4 ,in haying time some men take double wages1 and they are engaged long before in the spring4 ,to shave all the fields and meadows of ,new ,england clean6 ,if men did this but once1 and not every year1 we should never hear the last of that labor2 it would be more famous in each farmer's case than ,buonaparte's road over the ,simplon4 ,it has no other bulletin but the truthful 8,farmer's ,almanac40 ,ask them where scythe-snaths are made and sold1 and rifles too1 if it is not a real labor4 ,in its very weapons and its passes it has the semblance of war4 ,mexico was won with less exertion and less true valor than are required to do one season's haying in ,new ,england4 ,the former work was done by those who played truant and ran away from the latter4 ,those ,mexicans were mown down more easily than the summer's crop of grass in many a farmer's fields4 ,is there not some work in ,new ,england men8 ,this haying is no work for marines1 nor for deserters2 nor for ,united ,states troops1 so called1 nor for ,west ,point cadets4 ,it would wilt them1 and they would desert4 ,have they not deserted8 and run off to ,west ,point8 ,every field is a battle-field to the mower1--a pitched battle too1--and whole winrows of dead have covered it in the course of the season4 ,early and late the farmer has gone forth with his formidable scythe1 weapon of time1 ,time's weapon1 and fought the ground inch by inch4 ,it is the summer's enterprise4 ,and if we were a more poetic people1 horns would be blown to celebrate its completion4 ,there might be a ,haymakers' ,day4 ,new ,england's peaceful battles4 ,at ,bunker ,hill there were some who stood at the rail-fence and behind the winrows of new-mown hay4#bhd ,they have not yet quitted the field4 ,they stand there still2 they alone have not retreated4 ,the ,polygala sanguinea1 caducous polygala1 in damp ground1 with red or purple heads4 ,the dandelion still blossoms1 and the lupine still1 belated4 ,i have been to ,tarbell's ,swamp by the ,second ,division this afternoon1 and to the ,marlborough road4 ,it has promised rain all day2 cloudy and still and rather cool2 from time to time a few drops gently spitting1 but no shower4 ,the landscape wears a sober autumnal look4 ,i hear a drop or two on my hat4 ,i wear a thick coat4 ,the birds seem to know that it will not rain just yet4 ,the swallows skim low over the pastures1 twittering as they fly near me with forked tail1 dashing near me as if ,i scared up insects for them4 ,i see where a squirrel has been eating hazelnuts on a stump4 ,tarbell's ,swamp is mainly composed of low and even but dense beds of ,andromeda calyculata1 or dwarf andromeda1 which bears the early flower in the spring4 ,here and there1 mingled with it1 is the water 787 andromeda2 also pitch pines1 birches1 hardhack1 and the common alder 7,alnus serrulata71 and1 in separate and lower beds1 the cranberry2 and probably the ,rhodora ,canadensis might be found4 ,the lead-colored berries of the ,viburnum dentatum now4 ,cow-wheat and indigo-weed still in bloom by the dry wood-path-side1 and ,norway cinquefoil4 ,i detected a wild apple on the ,marlborough road by its fragrance1 in the thick woods2 small stems1 four inches in diameter1 falling over or leaning like rays on every side2 a clean white fruit1 the ripest yellowish1 a pleasant acid4 ,the fruit covered the ground4 ,it is unusual to meet with an early apple thus wild in the thickest woods4 ,it seemed admirable to me4 ,one of the noblest of fruits4 ,with green specks under the skin4 ,prenanthes alba1 white-flowering prenanthes1 with its strange halbert and variously shaped leaves2 neottia2 and hypericum4 ,i hear the rain 7#aa ,p4 ,m47 distilling upon the ground1 wetting the grass and leaves4 ,the melons needed it4 ,their leaves were curled and their fruit stinted4 ,i am less somnolent for the cool season4 ,i wake to a perennial day4 ,the hayer's work is done1 but ,i hear no boasting1 no firing of guns nor ringing of bells4 ,he celebrates it by going about the work he had postponed 8till after haying06 ,if all this steadiness and valor were spent upon some still worthier enterprise66 ,all men's employments1 all trades and professions1 in some of their aspects are attractive4 ,hence the boy ,i knew1 having sucked cider at a minister's cider-mill1 resolved to be a minister and make cider1 not thinking1 boy as he was1 how little fun there was in being a minister1 willing to purchase that pleasure at any price4 ,when ,i saw the carpenters the other day repairing ,hubbard's ,bridge1 their bench on the new planking they had laid over the water in the sun and air1 with no railing yet to obstruct the view1 ,i was almost ready to resolve that ,i would be a carpenter and work on bridges1 to secure a pleasant place to work4 ,one of the men had a fish-line cast round a sleeper1 which he looked at from time to time4 ,john ,potter told me that those root fences on the ,corner road were at least sixty or seventy years old4#bhe ,i see a solitary goldfinch now and then4 ,hieracium ,marianum or scabrum2 ,h4 ,kalmii or ,canadense2 ,marlborough road4 ,leontodon autumnale passim4 ,aug4 #ah4 ,it plainly makes men sad to think4 ,hence pensiveness is akin to sadness4 ,some dogs1 ,i have noticed1 have a propensity to worry cows4 ,they go off by themselves to distant pastures1 and ever and anon1 like four-legged devils1 they worry the cows1--literally full of the devil4 ,they are so full of the devil they know not what to do4 ,i come to interfere between the cows and their tormentors4 ,ah1 ,i grieve to see the devils escape so easily by their swift limbs1 imps of mischief6 ,they are the dog state of those boys who pull down hand-bills in the streets4 ,their next migration perchance will be into such dogs as these1 ignoble fate6 ,the dog1 whose office it should be to guard the herd1 turned its tormentor4 ,some courageous cow endeavoring in vain to toss the nimble devil4 ,those soldiers in the ,champ de ,mars#bhf at ,montreal convinced me that ,i had arrived in a foreign country under a different government1 where many are under the control of one4 ,such perfect drill could never be in a republic4 ,yet it had the effect on us as when the keeper shows his animals' claws4 ,it was the ,english leopard showing his claws4 ,the royal something or other4#bhg ,i have no doubt that soldiers well drilled1 as a class1 are peculiarly destitute of originality and independence4 ,the men were dressed above their condition2 had the bearing of gentlemen without a corresponding intellectual culture4#bhh ,the ,irish was a familiar element1 but the ,scotch a novel one4 ,the ,st4 ,andrew's ,church was prominent1 and sometimes ,i was reminded of ,edinburgh1--indeed1 much more than of ,london4 ,warburton remarked1 soon after landing at ,quebec1 that everything was cheap in that country but men4 ,my thought1 when observing how the wooden pavements were sawed by hand in the streets1 instead of by machinery1 because labor was cheap1 how cheap men are here6#bhi ,it is evident that a private man is not worth so much in ,canada as in the ,united ,states1 and if that is the bulk of a man's property1 i4 e4 the being private and peculiar1 he had better stay here4 ,an ,englishman1 methinks1 not to speak of other nations1 habitually regards himself merely as a constituent part of the ,english nation2 he holds a recognized place as such2 he is a member of the royal regiment of ,englishmen4 ,and he is proud of his nation4 ,but an ,american cares very little about such1 and greater freedom and independence are possible to him4 ,he is nearer to the primitive condition of man4 ,government lets him alone1 and he lets government alone4#bij ,i often thought of the ,tories and refugees who settled in ,canada at the time of the ,revolution4 ,these ,english were to a considerable extent their descendants4 ,quebec began to be fortified in a more regular manner in #afij4 ,the most modern fortifications have an air of antiquity about them2 they have the aspect of ruins in better or worse repair1--ruins kept in repair from the day they were built1 though they were completed yesterday1--because they are not in a true sense the work of this age4 ,i couple them with the dismantled ,spanish forts to be found in so many parts of the world4 ,they carry me back to the ,middle ,ages1 and the siege of ,jerusalem1 and ,st4 ,jean d',acre1 and the days of the ,bucaniers4 ,such works are not consistent with the development of the intellect4 ,huge stone structures of all kinds1 both by their creation and their influence1 rather oppress the intellect than set it free4 ,a little thought will dismantle them as fast as they are built4 ,they are a bungling contrivance4 ,it is an institution as rotten as the church4 ,the sentinel with his musket beside a man with his umbrella is spectral4 ,there is not sufficient reason for his existence4 ,my friend there1 with a bullet resting on half an ounce of powder1 does he think that he needs that argument in conversing with me8 ,of what use this fortification1 to look at it from the soldier's point of view8 ,general ,wolfe sailed by it with impunity1 and took the town of ,quebec without experiencing any hindrance from its fortifications4 ,how often do we have to read that the enemy occupied a position which commanded the old1 and so the fort was evacuated6#bia ,how impossible it is to give that soldier a good education1 without first making him virtually a deserter4#bib ,it is as if ,i were to come to a country village surrounded with palisadoes in the old ,indian style1--interesting as a relic of antiquity and barbarism4 ,a fortified town is a man cased in the heavy armor of antiquity1 and a horse-load of broadswords and small-arms slung to him1 endeavoring to go about his business4 ,the idea seemed to be that some time the inhabitants of ,canada might wish to govern themselves1 and this was to hinder4 ,but the inhabitants of ,california succeed well without any such establishment4#bic ,there would be the same sense in a man's wearing a breastplate all his days for fear somebody should fire a bullet at his vitals4 ,the ,english in ,canada seem to be everywhere prepared and preparing for war4 ,in the ,united ,states they are prepared for anything2 they may even be the aggressors4 ,this is a ruin kept in a remarkably good repair4 ,there are some eight hundred or a thousand men there to exhibit it4 ,one regiment goes bare-legged to increase the attraction4 ,if you wish to study the muscles of the leg about the knee1 repair to ,quebec4#bid ,aug4 #ai4 ,clematis ,virginiana2 calamint2 ,lycopus ,europeus1 water horehound4 ,this is a world where there are flowers4 ,now1 at #e ,a4 ,m41 the fog1 which in the west looks like a wreath of hard-rolled cotton-batting1 is rapidly dispersing4 ,the echo of the railroad whistle is heard the horizon round2 the gravel train is starting out4 ,the farmers are cradling oats in some places4 ,for some days past ,i have noticed a red maple or two about the pond1 though we have had no frost4 ,the grass is very wet with dew this morning4 ,the way in which men cling to old institutions after the life has departed out of them1 and out of themselves1 reminds me of those monkeys which cling by their tails1--aye1 whose tails contract about the limbs1 even the dead limbs1 of the forest1 and they hang suspended beyond the hunter's reach long after they are dead4 ,it is of no use to argue with such men4 ,they have not an apprehensive intellect1 but merely1 as it were1 a prehensile tail4 ,their intellect possesses merely the quality of a prehensile tail4 ,the tail itself contracts around the dead limb even after they themselves are dead1 and not till sensible corruption takes place do they fall4 ,the black howling monkey1 or caraya4 ,according to ,azara1 it is extremely difficult to get at them1 for 8when mortally wounded they coil the tail round a branch1 and hang by it with the head downwards for days after death1 and until1 in fact1 decomposition begins to take effect40 ,the commenting naturalist says1 8,a singular peculiarity of this organ is to contract at its extremity of its own accord as soon as it is extended to its full length40 ,i relinquish argument1 ,i wait for decomposition to take place1 for the subject is dead2 as ,i value the hide for the museum4 ,they say1 8,though you've got my soul1 you sha'n't have my carcass40 99 99 99 99 99 ,p4 ,m4--,to ,marlborough ,road via ,clamshell ,hill1 ,jenny ,dugan's1 ,round ,pond1 ,canoe ,birch ,road 7,deacon ,dakin's71 and ,white ,pond4 ,how many things concur to keep a man at home1 to prevent his yielding to his inclination to wander6 ,if ,i would extend my walk a hundred miles1 ,i must carry a tent on my back for shelter at night or in the rain1 or at least ,i must carry a thick coat to be prepared for a change in the weather4 ,so that it requires some resolution1 as well as energy and foresight1 to undertake the simplest journey4 ,man does not travel as easily as the birds migrate4 ,he is not everywhere at home1 like flies4 ,when ,i think how many things ,i can conveniently carry1 ,i am wont to think it most convenient to stay at home4 ,my home1 then1 to a certain extent is the place where ,i keep my thick coat and my tent and some books which ,i cannot carry2 where1 next1 ,i can depend upon meeting some friends2 and where1 finally1 ,i1 even ,i1 have established myself in business4 ,but this last in my case is the least important qualification of a home4 ,the poet must be continually watching the moods of his mind1 as the astronomer watches the aspects of the heavens4 ,what might we not expect from a long life faithfully spent in this wise8 ,the humblest observer would see some stars shoot4 ,a faithful description as by a disinterested person of the thoughts which visited a certain mind in threescore years and ten1 as when one reports the number and character of the vehicles which pass a particular point4 ,as travellers go round the world and report natural objects and phenomena1 so faithfully let another stay at home and report the phenomena of his own life1--catalogue stars1 those thoughts whose orbits are as rarely calculated as comets4 ,it matters not whether they visit my mind or yours1--whether the meteor falls in my field or in yours1--only that it come from heaven4 7,i am not concerned to express that kind of truth which ,nature has expressed4 ,who knows but ,i may suggest some things to her8 ,time was when she was indebted to such suggestions from another quarter1 as her present advancement shows4 ,i deal with the truths that recommend themselves to me1--please me1--not those merely which any system has voted to accept47 ,a meteorological journal of the mind4 ,you shall observe what occurs in your latitude1 ,i in mine4 ,some institutions--most institutions1 indeed--have had a divine origin4 ,but of most that we see prevailing in society nothing but the form1 the shell1 is left2 the life is extinct1 and there is nothing divine in them4 ,then the reformer arises inspired to reinstitute life1 and whatever he does or causes to be done is a restablishment of that same or a similar divineness4 ,but some1 who never knew the significance of these instincts1 are1 by a sort of false instinct1 found clinging to the shells4 ,those who have no knowledge of the divine appoint themselves defenders of the divine1 as champions of the church1 etc4 ,i have been astonished to observe how long some audiences can endure to hear a man speak on a subject which he knows nothing about1 as religion for instance1 when one who has no ear for music might with the same propriety take up the time of a musical assembly with putting through his opinions on music4 ,this young man who is the main pillar of some divine institution1--does he know what he has undertaken8 ,if the saints were to come again on earth1 would they be likely to stay at his house8 would they meet with his approbation even8 ,ne sutor ultra crepidam4 ,they who merely have a talent for affairs are forward to express their opinions4 ,a ,roman soldier sits there to decide upon the righteousness of ,christ4 ,the world does not long endure such blunders1 though they are made every day4 ,the weak-brained and pusillanimous farmers would fain abide by the institutions of their fathers4 ,their argument is they have not long to live1 and for that little space let them not be disturbed in their slumbers2 blessed are the peacemakers2 let this cup pass from me1 etc4 ,how vain it is to sit down to write when you have not stood up to live6 ,methinks that the moment my legs begin to move1 my thoughts begin to flow1 as if ,i had given vent to the stream at the lower end and consequently new fountains flowed into it at the upper4 ,a thousand rills which have their rise in the sources of thought burst forth and fertilize my brain4 ,you need to increase the draught below1 as the owners of meadows on ,concord ,river say of the ,billerica ,dam4 ,only while we are in action is the circulation perfect4 ,the writing which consists with habitual sitting is mechanical1 wooden1 dull to read4 ,the grass in the high pastures is almost as dry as hay4 ,the seasons do not cease a moment to revolve1 and therefore ,nature rests no longer at her culminating point than at any other4 ,if you are not out at the right instant1 the summer may go by and you not see it4 ,how much of the year is spring and fall6 how little can be called summer6 ,the grass is no sooner grown than it begins to wither4 ,how much ,nature herself suffers from drought6 ,it seems quite as much as she can do to produce these crops4 ,the most inattentive walker can see how the science of geology took its rise4 ,the inland hills and promontories betray the action of water on their rounded sides as plainly as if the work were completed yesterday4 ,he sees it with but half an eye as he walks1 and forgets his thought again4 ,also the level plains and more recent meadows and marine shells found on the tops of hills4 ,the geologist painfully and elaborately follows out these suggestions1 and hence his fine-spun theories4 ,the goldfinch1 though solitary1 is now one of the commonest birds in the air4 ,what if a man were earnestly and wisely to set about recollecting and preserving the thoughts which he has had6 ,how many perchance are now irrecoverable6 ,calling in his neighbors to aid him4 ,i do not like to hear the name of particular ,states given to birds and flowers which are found in all equally1--as ,maryland yellow-throat1 etc41 etc4 ,the ,canadenses and ,virginicas may be suffered to pass for the most part1 for there is historical as well as natural reason at least for them4 ,canada is the peculiar country of some and the northern limit of many more plants4 ,and ,virginia1 which was originally the name for all the ,atlantic shore1 has some right to stand for the ,south4 ,the fruit of the sweet-gale by ,nut ,meadow ,brook is of a yellowish green now and has not yet its greasy feel4 ,the little red-streaked and dotted excrescences on the shrub oaks ,i find as yet no name for4 ,now for the pretty red capsules or pods of the ,hypericum ,canadense4 ,white goldenrod is budded along the ,marlborough road4 ,chickadees and jays never fail4 ,the cricket's is a note which does not attract you to itself4 ,it is not easy to find one4 ,i fear that the character of my knowledge is from year to year becoming more distinct and scientific2 that1 in exchange for views as wide as heaven's cope1 ,i am being narrowed down to the field of the microscope4 ,i see details1 not wholes nor the shadow of the whole4 ,i count some parts1 and say1 8,i know40 ,the cricket's chirp now fills the air in dry fields near pine woods4 ,gathered our first watermelon to-day4 ,by the ,marlborough road ,i notice the richly veined leaves of the ,neottia pubescens1 or veined neottia1 rattlesnake-plantain4 ,i like this last name very well1 though it might not be easy to convince a quibbler or proser of its fitness4 ,we want some name to express the mystic wildness of its rich leaves4 ,such work as men imitate in their embroidery1 unaccountably agreeable to the eye1 as if it answered its end only when it met the eye of man2 a reticulated leaf1 visible only on one side2 little things which make one pause in the woods1 take captive the eye4 ,here is a bees' or wasps' nest in the sandy1 mouldering bank by the roadside1 four inches in diameter1 as if made of scales of striped brown paper4 ,it is singular if indeed man first made paper and then discovered its resemblance to the work of the wasps1 and did not derive the hint from them4 ,canoe birches by road to ,dakin's4 ,cuticle stripped off2 inner bark dead and scaling off2 new 7inner7 bark formed4 ,the ,solomon's-seals are fruited now1 with finely red-dotted berries4 ,there was one original name well given1 ,buster ,kendal4#bie ,the fragrance of the clethra fills the air by watersides4 ,in the hollows where in winter is a pond1 the grass is short1 thick1 and green still1 and here and there are tufts pulled up as if by the mouth of cows4 ,small rough sunflower by side of road between canoe birch and ,white ,pond1--,helianthus divaricatus4 ,lespedeza capitata1 shrubby lespedeza1 ,white ,pond road and ,marlborough road4 ,l4 polystachya1 hairy lespedeza1 ,corner road beyond ,hubbard's ,bridge4 ,aug4 #bj4 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to ,lee's ,bridge via ,hubbard's ,wood1 ,potter's field1 ,conantum1 returning by ,abel ,minott's house1 ,clematis ,brook1 ,baker's pine plain1 and railroad4 ,i hear a cricket in the ,depot ,field1 walk a rod or two1 and find the note proceeds from near a rock4 ,partly under a rock1 between it and the roots of the grass1 he lies concealed1--for ,i pull away the withered grass with my hands1--uttering his night-like creak1 with a vibratory motion of his wings1 and flattering himself that it is night1 because he has shut out the day4 ,he was a black fellow nearly an inch long1 with two long1 slender feelers4 ,they plainly avoid the light and hide their heads in the grass4 ,at any rate they regard this as the evening of the year4 ,they are remarkably secret and unobserved1 considering how much noise they make4 ,every milkman has heard them all his life2 it is the sound that fills his ears as he drives along4 ,but what one has ever got off his cart to go in search of one8 ,i see smaller ones moving stealthily about1 whose note ,i do not know4 ,who ever distinguished their various notes1 which fill the crevices in each other's song8 ,it would be a curious ear1 indeed1 that distinguished the species of the crickets which it heard1 and traced even the earth-song home1 each part to its particular performer4 ,i am afraid to be so knowing4 ,they are shy as birds1 these little bodies4 ,those nearest me continually cease their song as ,i walk1 so that the singers are always a rod distant1 and ,i cannot easily detect one4 ,it is difficult1 moreover1 to judge correctly whence the sound proceeds4 ,perhaps this wariness is necessary to save them from insectivorous birds1 which would otherwise speedily find out so loud a singer4 ,they are somewhat protected by the universalness of the sound1 each one's song being merged and lost in the general concert1 as if it were the creaking of earth's axle4 ,they are very numerous in oats and other grain1 which conceals them and yet affords a clear passage4 ,i never knew any drought or sickness so to prevail as to quench the song of the crickets2 it fails not in its season1 night or day4 ,the ,lobelia inflata1 ,indian-tobacco1 meets me at every turn4 ,at first ,i suspect some new bluish flower in the grass1 but stooping see the inflated pods4 ,tasting one such herb convinces me that there are such things as drugs which may either kill or cure4#bif ,the ,rhexia ,virginica is a showy flower at present4 ,how copious and precise the botanical language to describe the leaves1 as well as the other parts of a plant6 ,botany is worth studying if only for the precision of its terms1--to learn the value of words and of system4 ,it is wonderful how much pains has been taken to describe a flower's leaf1 compared for instance with the care that is taken in describing a psychological fact4 ,suppose as much ingenuity 7perhaps it would be needless7 in making a language to express the sentiments6 ,we are armed with language adequate to describe each leaf in the field1 or at least to distinguish it from each other1 but not to describe a human character4 ,with equally wonderful indistinctness and confusion we describe men4 ,the precision and copiousness of botanical language applied to the description of moral qualities6 ,the neottia1 or ladies'-tresses1 behind ,garfield's house4 ,the golden robin is now a rare bird to see4 ,here are the small1 lively-tasting blackberries1 so small they are not commonly eaten4 ,the grasshoppers seem no drier than the grass4 ,in ,lee's field are two kinds of plantain4 ,is the common one found there8 ,the willow reach by ,lee's ,bridge has been stripped for powder4 ,none escapes4 ,this morning1 hearing a cart1 ,i looked out and saw ,george ,dugan going by with a horse-load of his willow toward ,acton powder-mills1 which ,i had seen in piles by the turnpike4 ,every traveller has just as particular an errand which ,i might likewise chance to be privy to4 ,now that ,i am at the extremity of my walk1 ,i see a threatening cloud blowing up from the south1 which however1 methinks1 will not compel me to make haste4 ,apios tuberosa1 or ,glycine ,apios1 ground-nut4 ,the prenanthes now takes the place of the lactucas1 which are gone to seed4 ,in the dry ditch1 near ,abel ,minott's house that was1 ,i see cardinal-flowers1 with their red artillery1 reminding me of soldiers1--red men1 war1 and bloodshed4 ,some are four and a half feet high4 ,thy sins shall be as scarlet4 ,is it my sins that ,i see8 ,it shows how far a little color can go2 for the flower is not large1 yet it makes itself seen from afar1 and so answers the purpose for which it was colored completely4 ,it is remarkable for its intensely brilliant scarlet color4 ,you are slow to concede to it a high rank among flowers1 but ever and anon1 as you turn your eyes away1 it dazzles you and you pluck it4 ,scutellaria lateriflora1 side-flowering skullcap1 here4 ,this brook deserves to be called ,clematis ,brook 7though that name is too often applied71 for the clematis is very abundant1 running over the alders and other bushes on its brink4 ,where the brook issues from the pond1 the nightshade grows profusely1 spreading five or six feet each way1 with its red berries now ripe4 ,it grows1 too1 at the upper end of the pond4 ,but if it is the button-bush that grows in the now low water1 it should rather be called the ,button-,bush ,pond4 ,now the tall rush is in its prime on the shore here1 and the clematis abounds by this pond also4 ,i came out by the leafy-columned elm under ,mt4 ,misery1 where the trees stood up one above another1 higher and higher1 immeasurably far to my imagination1 as on the side of a ,new ,hampshire mountain4 ,on the pitch pine plain1 at first the pines are far apart1 with a wiry grass between1 and goldenrod and hardhack and ,st4 ,john's-wort and blackberry vines1 each tree merely keeping down the grass for a space about itself1 meditating to make a forest floor2 and here and there younger pines are springing up4 ,further in1 you come to moss-covered patches1 dry1 deep white moss1 or almost bare mould1 half covered with pine needles4 ,thus begins the future forest floor4 ,the sites of the shanties that once stood by the railroad in ,lincoln when the ,irish built it1 the still remaining hollow square mounds of earth which formed their embankments1 are to me instead of barrows and druidical monuments and other ruins4 ,it is a sufficient antiquity to me since they were built1 their material being earth4 ,now the ,canada thistle and the mullein crown their tops4 ,i see the stones which made their simple chimneys still left one upon another at one end1 which were surmounted with barrels to eke them out2 and clean boiled beef bones and old shoes are strewn about4 ,otherwise it is a clean ruin1 and nothing is left but a mound1 as in the graveyard4 ,sium lineare1 a kind of water-parsnip1 whose blossom resembles the ,cicuta maculata4 ,the flowers of the blue vervain have now nearly reached the summit of their spikes4 ,a traveller who looks at things with an impartial eye may see what the oldest inhabitant has not observed4 ,aug4 #ba4 ,to a great extent the feudal system still prevails there 7in ,canada71 and ,i saw that ,i should be a bad citizen1 that any man who thought for himself and was only reasonably independent would naturally be a rebel4 ,you could not read or hear of their laws without seeing that it was a legislating for a few and not for all4 ,that certainly is the best government where the inhabitants are least often reminded of the government4 7,where a man cannot be a poet even without danger of being made poet-laureate6 ,where he cannot be healthily neglected1 and grow up a man1 and not an ,englishman merely67 ,where it is the most natural thing in the world for a government that does not understand you1 to let you alone4 ,oh1 what a government were there1 my countrymen6 ,it is a government1 that ,english one1--and most other ,european ones1--that cannot afford to be forgotten1 as you would naturally forget them1 that cannot let you go alone1 having learned to walk4 ,it appears to me that a true ,englishman can only speculate within bounds2 he has to pay his respects to so many things that before he knows it he has paid all he is worth4 ,the principal respect in which our government is more tolerable is in the fact that there is so much less of government with us4 ,in the ,states it is only once in a dog's age that a man need remember his government1 but here he is reminded of it every day4 ,government parades itself before you4 ,it is in no sense the servant but the master4#big ,what a faculty must that be which can paint the most barren landscape and humblest life in glorious colors6 ,it is pure and invigorated senses reacting on a sound and strong imagination4 ,is not that the poet's case8 ,the intellect of most men is barren4 ,they neither fertilize nor are fertilized4 ,it is the marriage of the soul with ,nature that makes the intellect fruitful1 that gives birth to imagination4 ,when we were dead and dry as the highway1 some sense which has been healthily fed will put us in relation with ,nature1 in sympathy with her2 some grains of fertilizing pollen1 floating in the air1 fall on us1 and suddenly the sky is all one rainbow1 is full of music and fragrance and flavor4 ,the man of intellect only1 the prosaic man1 is a barren1 staminiferous flower2 the poet is a fertile and perfect flower4 ,men are such confirmed arithmeticians and slaves of business that ,i cannot easily find a blank-book that has not a red line or a blue one for the dollars and cents1 or some such purpose4#bih ,as is a man's intellectual character1 is not such his physical after all8 ,can you not infer from knowing the intellectual characters of two which is most tenacious of life1 which would die the hardest and will live the longest1 which is the toughest1 which has most brute strength1 which the most passive endurance8 ,methinks ,i could to some extent infer these things4 99 99 99 99 99 #a ,p4 ,m4--,round ,flint's ,pond via railroad1 my old field1 ,goose ,pond1 ,wharf ,rock1 ,cedar ,hill1 ,smith's1 and so back4 ,bigelow1 speaking of the spikes of the blue vervain 7,verbena hastata71 says1 8,the flowering commences at their base and is long in reaching their summit40 ,i perceive that only one circle of buds1 about half a dozen1 blossoms at a time1--and there are about thirty circles in the space of three inches1--while the next circle of buds above at the same time shows the blue4 ,thus this triumphant blossoming circle travels upward1 driving the remaining buds off into space4#bii ,i think it was the #afth of ,july when ,i first noticed them 7on another plant71 and now they are all within about half an inch of the top of the spikes4 ,yet the blossoms have got no nearer the top on long sic spikes1 which had many buds1 than on short ones only an inch long4 ,perhaps the blossoming commenced enough earlier on the long ones to make up for the difference in length4 ,it is very pleasant to measure the progress of the season by this and similar clocks4 ,so you get1 not the absolute time1 but the true time of the season4#cjj ,but ,i can measure the progress of the seasons only by observing a particular plant1 for ,i notice that they are by no means equally advanced4 ,the prevailing conspicuous flowers at present are3 ,the early goldenrods1 tansy1 the life-everlastings1 flea-bane 7though not for its flower71 yarrow 7rather dry71 hardhack and meadow-sweet 7both getting dry1 also mayweed71 ,eupatorium purpureum1 scabish1 clethra 7really a fine1 sweet-scented1 and this year particularly fair and fresh1 flower1 some unexpanded buds at top tinged with red71 ,rhexia ,virginica1 thoroughwort1 ,polygala sanguinea1 prunella1 and dog's-bane 7getting stale71 etc41 etc4 ,touch-me-not 7less observed71 ,canada snapdragon by roadside 7not conspicuous74 ,the purple gerardia now1 horsemint1 or ,mentha borealis1 ,veronica scutellata 7marsh speedwell71 ,ranunculus acris 7tall crowfoot7 still4 ,mowing to some extent improves the landscape to the eye of the walker4 ,the aftermath1 so fresh and green1 begins now to recall the spring to my mind4 ,in some fields fresh clover heads appear4 ,this is certainly better than fields of lodged and withered grass4 ,i find ground-nuts by the railroad causeway three quarters of an inch long by a third of an inch4 ,the epilobium still4 ,cow-wheat 7,melampyrum ,americanum7 still flourishes as much if not more than ever1 and1 shrubby-looking1 helps cover the ground where the wood has recently been cut off1 like huckleberry bushes4 ,there is some advantage1 intellectually and spiritually1 in taking wide views with the bodily eye and not pursuing an occupation which holds the body prone4 ,there is some advantage1 perhaps1 in attending to the general features of the landscape over studying the particular plants and animals which inhabit it4 ,a man may walk abroad and no more see the sky than if he walked under a shed4 ,the poet is more in the air than the naturalist1 though they may walk side by side4 ,granted that you are out-of-doors2 but what if the outer door is open1 if the inner door is shut6 ,you must walk sometimes perfectly free1 not prying nor inquisitive1 not bent upon seeing things4 ,throw away a whole day for a single expansion1 a single inspiration of air4 ,any anomaly in vegetation makes ,nature seem more real and present in her working1 as the various red and yellow excrescences on young oaks4 ,i am affected as if it were a different ,nature that produced them4 ,as if a poet were born who had designs in his head4#cja ,it is remarkable that animals are often obviously1 manifestly1 related to the plants which they feed upon or live among1--as caterpillars1 butterflies1 tree-toads1 partridges1 chewinks1--and this afternoon ,i noticed a yellow spider on a goldenrod2 as if every condition might have its expression in some form of animated being4#cjb ,spear-leaved goldenrod in path to northeast of ,flint's ,pond4 ,hieracium paniculatum1 a very delicate and slender hawkweed4 ,i have now found all the hawkweeds4 ,singular these genera of plants1 plants manifestly related yet distinct4 ,they suggest a history to nature1 a natural history in a new sense4#cjc ,at ,wharf ,rock found water lobelia in blossom4 ,i saw some smilax vines in the swamp1 which were connected with trees ten feet above the ground whereon they grew and four or five feet above the surrounding bushes4 ,this slender vine1 which cannot stand erect1 how did it establish that connection8 ,have the trees and shrubs by which it once climbed been cut down8 ,or perchance do the young and flexible shoots blow up in high winds and fix themselves8#cjd ,on ,cedar ,hill1 south side pond1 ,i still hear the locust1 though it has been so much colder for the last week4 ,it is quite hazy in the west1 though comparatively clear in other directions4 ,the barberry bushes1 with their drooping wreaths of fruit now turning red1 bushed up with some other shrub or tree4 ,aug4 #bb4 ,i found last winter that it was expected by my townsmen that ,i would give some account of ,canada because ,i had visited it1 and because many of them had1 and so felt interested in the subject1--visited it as the bullet visits the wall at which it is fired1 and from which it rebounds as quickly1 and flattened 7somewhat damaged1 perchance76 ,yes1 a certain man contracted to take fifteen hundred live ,yankees through ,canada1 at a certain rate and within a certain time4 ,it did not matter to him what the commodity was1 if only it would pack well and were delivered to him according to agreement at the right place and time and rightly ticketed1 so much in bulk1 wet or dry1 on deck or in the hold1 at the option of the carrier how to stow the cargo and not always right side up4 ,in the meanwhile1 it was understood that the freight was not to be willfully and intentionally debarred from seeing the country if it had eyes4 ,it was understood that there would be a country to be seen on either side1 though that was a secret advantage which the contractors seemed not to be aware of4 ,i fear that ,i have not got much to say1 not having seen much1 for the very rapidity of the motion had a tendency to keep my eyelids closed4 ,what ,i got by going to ,canada was a cold1 and not till ,i get a fever1 which ,i never had1 shall ,i know how to appreciate it4#cje ,it is the fault of some excellent writers--,de ,quincey's first impressions on seeing ,london suggest it to me--that they express themselves with too great fullness and detail4 ,they give the most faithful1 natural1 and lifelike account of their sensations1 mental and physical1 but they lack moderation and sententiousness4 ,they do not affect us by an ineffectual earnestness and a reserve of meaning1 like a stutterer2 they say all they mean4 ,their sentences are not concentrated and nutty4 ,sentences which suggest far more than they say1 which have an atmosphere about them1 which do not merely report an old1 but make a new1 impression2 sentences which suggest as many things and are as durable as a ,roman aqueduct2 to frame these1 that is the art of writing4 ,sentences which are expensive1 towards which so many volumes1 so much life1 went2 which lie like boulders on the page1 up and down or across2 which contain the seed of other sentences1 not mere repetition1 but creation2 which a man might sell his grounds and castles to build4 ,if ,de ,quincey had suggested each of his pages in a sentence and passed on1 it would have been far more excellent writing4 ,his style is nowhere kinked and knotted up into something hard and significant1 which you could swallow like a diamond1 without digesting4#cjf ,aug4 #bc4 ,saturday4 ,to ,walden to bathe at #e4cj ,a4 ,m4 ,traces of the heavy rains in the night4 ,the sand and gravel are beaten hard by them4 ,three or four showers in succession4 ,but the grass is not so wet as after an ordinary dew4 ,the ,verbena hastata at the pond has reached the top of its spike1 a little in advance of what ,i noticed yesterday2 only one or two flowers are adhering4 ,at the commencement of my walk ,i saw no traces of fog1 but after detected fogs over particular meadows and high up some brooks' valleys1 and far in the ,deep ,cut the wood fog4 ,first muskmelon this morning4 ,i rarely pass the shanty in the woods1 where human beings are lodged1 literally1 no better than pigs in a sty1--little children1 a grown man and his wife1 and an aged grandmother living this squalid life1 squatting on the ground1--but ,i wonder if it can be indeed true that little ,julia ,riordan calls this place home1 comes here to rest at night and for her daily food1--in whom ladies and gentlemen in the village take an interest4 ,of what significance are charity and almshouses8 ,that there they live unmolested6 in one sense so many degrees below the almshouse6 beneath charity6 ,it is admirable1--,nature against almshouses4 ,a certain wealth of nature1 not poverty1 it suggests4 ,not to identify health and contentment1 aye1 and independence1 with the possession of this world's goods6 ,it is not wise to waste compassion on them4 ,as ,i go through the ,deep ,cut1 ,i hear one or two early humblebees1 come out on the damp sandy bank1 whose low hum sounds like distant horns from far in the horizon over the woods4 ,it was long before ,i detected the bees that made it1 so far away and musical it sounded1 like the shepherds in some distant eastern vale greeting the king of day4#cjg ,the farmers now carry--those who have got them--their early potatoes and onions to market1 starting away early in the morning or at midnight4 ,i see them returning in the afternoon with the empty barrels4 ,perchance the copious rain of last night will trouble those who had not been so provident as to get their hay from the ,great ,meadows1 where it is often lost4 99 99 99 99 99 ,p4 ,m4--,walk to ,annursnack and back over stone bridge4 ,i sometimes reproach myself because ,i do not find anything attractive in certain mere trivial employments of men1--that ,i skip men so commonly1 and their affairs1--the professions and the trades1--do not elevate them at least in my thought and get some material for poetry out of them directly4 ,i will not avoid1 then1 to go by where these men are repairing the stone bridge1--see if ,i cannot see poetry in that1 if that will not yield me a reflection4 ,it is narrow to be confined to woods and fields and grand aspects of nature only4 ,the greatest and wisest will still be related to men4 ,why not see men standing in the sun and casting a shadow1 even as trees8 ,may not some light be reflected from them as from the stems of trees8 ,i will try to enjoy them as animals1 at least4 ,they are perhaps better animals than men4 ,do not neglect to speak of men's low life and affairs with sympathy1 though you ever so speak as to suggest a contrast between them and the ideal and divine4 ,you may be excused if you are always pathetic1 but do not refuse to recognize4 ,resolve to read no book1 to take no walk1 to undertake no enterprise1 but such as you can endure to give an account of to yourself4 ,live thus deliberately for the most part4 ,when ,i stopped to gather some blueberries by the roadside this afternoon1 ,i heard the shrilling of a cricket or a grasshopper close to me1 quite clear1 almost like a bell1 a stridulous sound1 a clear ring1 incessant1 not intermittent1 like the song of the black fellow ,i caught the other day1 and not suggesting the night1 but belonging to day4 ,it was long before ,i could find him1 though all the while within a foot or two4 ,i did not know whether to search amid the grass and stones or amid the leaves4 ,at last1 by accident ,i saw him1 he shrilling all the while under an alder leaf two feet from the ground1--a slender green fellow with long feelers and transparent wings4 ,when he shrilled1 his wings1 which opened on each other in the form of a heart perpendicularly to his body like the wings of fairies1 vibrated swiftly on each other4 ,the apparently wingless female1 as ,i thought1 was near4 ,we experience pleasure when an elevated field or even road in which we may be walking holds its level toward the horizon at a tangent to the earth1 is not convex with the earth's surface1 but an absolute level4 ,on or under east side of ,annursnack1 ,epilobium coloratum1 colored willow-herb1 near the spring4 ,also ,polygonum sagittatum1 scratch-grass4 ,the ,price ,farm road1 one of those everlasting roads which the sun delights to shine along in an ,august afternoon1 playing truant2 which seem to stretch themselves with terrene jest as the weary traveller journeys on2 where there are three white sandy furrows 7lir71 two for the wheels and one between them for the horse1 with endless green grass borders between and room on each side for huckleberries and birches2 where the walls indulge in freaks1 not always parallel to the ruts1 and goldenrod yellows all the path2 which some elms began to border and shade once1 but left off in despair1 it was so long2 from no point on which can you be said to be at any definite distance from a town4 ,i associate the beauty of ,quebec with the steel-like and flashing air4#cjh ,our little river reaches are not to be forgotten4 ,i noticed that seen northward on the ,assabet from the ,causeway ,bridge near the second stone bridge4 ,there was a man in a boat in the sun1 just disappearing in the distance round a bend1 lifting high his arms and dipping his paddle as if he were a vision bound to land of the blessed1--far off1 as in picture4 ,when ,i see ,concord to purpose1 ,i see it as if it were not real but painted1 and what wonder if ,i do not speak to thee8 ,i saw a snake by the roadside and touched him with my foot to see if he were alive4 ,he had a toad in his jaws1 which he was preparing to swallow with his jaws distended to three times his width1 but he relinquished his prey in haste and fled2 and ,i thought1 as the toad jumped leisurely away with his slime-covered hind-quarters glistening in the sun1 as if ,i1 his deliverer1 wished to interrupt his meditations1--without a shriek or fainting1--,i thought what a healthy indifference he manifested4 ,is not this the broad earth still8 he said4#cji ,aug4 #bd4 ,mollugo verticillata1 carpet-weed1 flat1 whorl-leaved weed in gardens1 with small white flowers4 ,portulaca oleracea1 purslane1 with its yellow blossoms4 ,chelone glabra4 ,i have seen the small mulleins as big as a ninepence in the fields for a day or two4#caj ,the weather is warmer again after a week or more of cool days4 ,there is greater average warmth1 but not such intolerable heats as in ,july4 ,the nights especially are more equably warm now1 even when the day has been comparatively rather cool4 ,there are few days now1 fewer than in ,july1 when you cannot lie at your length on the grass4 ,you have now forgotten winter and its fashions1 and have learned new summer fashions4 ,your life may be out-of-doors now mainly4 ,illustration ,rattlesnake grass is ripe4 ,the pods of the ,asclepias pulchra stand up pointedly like slender vases on a salver1-- an open salver truly6 ,those of the ,asclepias ,syriaca hang down4 ,the interregnum in the blossoming of flowers being well over1 many small flowers blossom now in the low grounds1 having just reached their summer4 ,it is now dry enough1 and they feel the heat their tenderness required4 ,the autumnal flowers1--goldenrods1 asters1 and johnswort1--though they have made demonstrations1 have not yet commenced to reign4 ,the tansy is already getting stale2 it is perhaps the first conspicuous yellow flower that passes from the stage4#caa ,in ,hubbard's ,swamp1 where the blueberries1 dangleberries1 and especially the pyrus or choke-berries were so abundant last summer1 there is now perhaps not one 7unless a blueberry7 to be found4 ,where the choke-berries held on all last winter1 the black and the red4 ,the common skullcap 7,scutellaria galericulata71 quite a handsome and middling-large blue flower4 ,lobelia pallida still4 ,pointed cleavers or clivers 7,galium asprellum74 ,is that the naked viburnum1 so common1 with its white1 red1 then purple berries1 in ,hubbard's meadow8#cab ,did ,i find the dwarf tree-primrose in ,hubbard's meadow to-day8 ,stachys aspera1 hedge-nettle or woundwort1 a rather handsome purplish flower4 ,the capsules of the ,iris versicolor1 or blue flag1 are now ready for humming 84 ,elderberries are ripe4 ,aug4 #be4 ,monday4 ,what the little regular1 rounded1 light-blue flower in ,heywood ,brook which ,i make ,class ,v1 ,order #a8 ,also the small purplish flower growing on the mud in ,hubbard's meadow1 perchance ,c4 ,,xiv1 with one pistil8 ,what the bean vine in the garden1 ,class ,,viii1 ,order #a8 ,i do not find the name of the large white polygonum of the river4 ,was it the filiform ranunculus which ,i found on ,hubbard's shore8 ,hypericum ,virginicum1 mixed yellow and purple4 ,the black rough fruit of the skunk-cabbage1 though green within1 barely rising above the level of the ground2 you see where it has been cut in two by the mowers in the meadows4 ,polygonum amphibium1 red1 in river4 ,lysimachia hybrida still4 ,checkerberry in bloom4 ,blue-eyed grass still4 ,rhus copallina1 mountain or dwarf sumach4 ,i now know all of the ,rhus genus in ,bigelow4 ,we have all but the staghorn in ,concord4 ,what a miserable name has the ,gratiola aurea1 hedge hyssop6 ,whose hedge does it grow by1 pray1 in this part of the world8#cac ,aug4 #bf4 ,a cool and even piercing wind blows to-day1 making all shrubs to bow and trees to wave2 such as we could not have had in ,july4 ,i speak not of its coolness but its strength and steadiness4 ,the wind and the coldness increased as the day advanced1 and finally the wind went down with the sun4 ,i was compelled to put on an extra coat for my walk4 ,the ground is strewn with windfalls1 and much fruit will consequently be lost4 ,the wind roars amid the pines like the surf4 ,you can hardly hear the crickets for the din1 or the cars4 ,i think the last must be considerably delayed when their course is against it4 ,indeed it is difficult to enjoy a quiet thought4 ,you sympathize too much with the commotion and restlessness of the elements4 ,such a blowing1 stirring1 bustling day1--what does it mean8 ,all light things decamp2 straws and loose leaves change their places4 ,such a blowing day is no doubt indispensable in the economy of nature4 ,the whole country is a seashore1 and the wind is the surf that breaks on it4 ,it shows the white and silvery under sides of the leaves4 ,do plants and trees need to be thus tried and twisted8 ,is it a first intimation to the sap to cease to ascend1 to thicken their stems8 ,the ,gerardia pedicularia1 bushy gerardia1 ,i find on the ,white ,pond road4 ,i perceive that some farmers are cutting turf now4 ,they require the driest season of the year4 ,there is something agreeable to my thoughts in thus burning a part of the earth1 the stock of fuel is so inexhaustible4 ,nature looks not mean and niggardly1 but like an ample loaf4 ,is not he a rich man who owns a peat meadow8 ,it is to enjoy the luxury of wealth4 ,it must be a luxury to sit around the fire in winter days and nights and burn these dry slices of the meadow which contain roots of all herbs4 ,you dry and burn the very earth itself4 ,it is a fact kindred with salt-licks4 ,the meadow is strewn with the fresh bars1 bearing the marks of the fork1 and the turf-cutter is wheeling them out with his barrow4 ,to sit and see the world aglow and try to imagine how it would seem to have it so destroyed6 ,woodchucks are seen tumbling into their holes on all sides4 ,aug4 #bg4 ,i see the volumes of smoke--not quite the blaze--from burning brush1 as ,i suppose1 far in the western horizon4 ,i believe it is at this season of the year chiefly that you see this sight4 ,it is always a question with some whether it is not a fire in the woods1 or some building4 ,it is an interesting feature in the scenery at this season4 ,the farmer's simple enterprises4 ,the vervain which ,i examined by the railroad the other day has still a quarter of an inch to the top of its spikes4 ,hawkweed groundsel 7,senecio hieracifolius7 7fireweed74 ,rubus sempervirens1 evergreen raspberry1 the small low blackberry1 is now in fruit4 ,the ,medeola ,virginica1 cucumber-root1 the whorl-leaved plant1 is now in green fruit4 ,polygala cruciata1 cross-leaved polygala1 in the meadow between ,trillium ,woods and railroad4 ,this is rare and new to me4 ,it has a very sweet1 but as it were intermittent1 fragrance1 as of checkerberry and mayflowers combined4 ,the handsome calyx-leaves4#cad ,aug4 #bh4 ,the pretty little blue flower in the ,heywood ,brook1 ,class ,v1 ,order #a4 ,corolla about one sixth of an inch in diameter1 with five rounded segments2 stamens and pistil shorter than corolla2 calyx with five acute segments and acute sinuses2 leaves not opposite1 lanceolate1 spatulate1 blunt1 somewhat hairy on upper side with a midrib only1 sessile2 flowers in a loose raceme on rather long pedicels4 ,whole plant decumbent1 curving upward4 ,wet ground4 ,said to be like the forget-me-not4 ,raphanus ,raphanistrum1 or wild radish1 in meadows4 ,i find three or four ordinary laborers to-day putting up the necessary outdoor fixtures for a magnetic telegraph from ,boston to ,burlington4 ,they carry along a basket full of simple implements1 like travelling tinkers1 and1 with a little rude soldering1 and twisting1 and straightening of wires1 the work is done4 ,it is a work which seems to admit of the greatest latitude of ignorance and bungling1 and as if you might set your hired man with the poorest head and hands to building a magnetic telegraph4 ,all great inventions stoop thus low to succeed1 for the understanding is but little above the feet4 ,they preserve so low a tone2 they are simple almost to coarseness and commonplaceness4 ,somebody had told them what he wanted1 and sent them forth with a coil of wire to make a magnetic telegraph4 ,it seems not so wonderful an invention as a common cart or a plow4 99 99 99 99 99 ,evening4--,a new moon visible in the east sic4 ,how unexpectedly it always appears6 ,you easily lose it in the sky4 ,the whip-poor-will sings1 but not so commonly as in spring4 ,the bats are active4 ,the poet is a man who lives at last by watching his moods4 ,an old poet comes at last to watch his moods as narrowly as a cat does a mouse4 ,i omit the unusual--the hurricanes and earthquakes--and describe the common4 ,this has the greatest charm and is the true theme of poetry4 ,you may have the extraordinary for your province1 if you will let me have the ordinary4 ,give me the obscure life1 the cottage of the poor and humble1 the workdays of the world1 the barren fields1 the smallest share of all things but poetic perception4 ,give me but the eyes to see the things which you possess4#cae ,aug4 #bi4 ,though it is early1 my neighbor's hens have strayed far into the fog toward the river4 ,i find a wasp in my window1 which already appears to be taking refuge from winter and unspeakable fate4 ,those who first built it1 coming from old ,france1 with the memory and tradition of feudal days and customs weighing on them1 were unquestionably behind their age1 and those who now inhabit it and repair it are behind their ancestors4 ,it is as if the inhabitants of ,boston should go down to ,fort ,independence1 or the inhabitants of ,new ,york should go over to ,castle ,william1 to live4 ,i rubbed my eyes to be sure that ,i was in the ,nineteenth ,century4 ,that would be a good place to read ,froissart's ,chronicles1 ,i thought4 ,it is a specimen of the ,old ,world in the ,new4 ,it is such a reminiscence of the ,middle ,ages as one of ,scott's novels4 ,those old chevaliers thought they could transplant the feudal system to ,america4 ,it has been set out1 but it has not thriven4#caf ,might ,i not walk a little further1 till ,i hear new crickets1 till their creak has acquired some novelty1 as if they were a new species whose habitat ,i had reached8#cag ,the air is filled with mist1 yet a transparent mist1 a principle in it you might call flavor1 which ripens fruits4 ,this haziness seems to confine and concentrate the sunlight1 as if you lived in a halo4 ,it is ,august4 ,a flock of forty-four young turkeys with their old sic1 half a mile from a house on ,conantum by the river1 the old faintly gobbling1 the half-grown young peeping4 ,turkey-men6 ,gerardia glauca 7quercifolia1 says one71 tall gerardia1 one flower only left2 also ,corydalis glauca4 ,aug4 #cj4 ,saturday4 ,i perceive in the ,norway cinquefoil 7,potentilla ,norvegica71 now nearly out of blossom1 that the alternate five leaves of the calyx are closing over the seeds to protect them4 ,this evidence of forethought1 this simple reflection in a double sense of the term1 in this flower1 is affecting to me1 as if it said to me3 8,even ,i am doing my appointed work in this world faithfully4 ,not even do ,i1 however obscurely ,i may grow among the other loftier and more famous plants1 shirk my work1 humble weed as ,i am4 ,not even when ,i have blossomed1 and have lost my painted petals and am preparing to die down to my root1 do ,i forget to fall with my arms around my babe1 faithful to the last1 that the infant may be found preserved in the arms of the frozen mother40 ,that thus all the ,norway cinquefoils in the world had curled back their calyx leaves1 their warm cloaks1 when now their flowering season was past1 over their progeny1 from the time they were created6 ,there is one door closed1 of the closing year4 ,nature ordered this bending back of the calyx leaves1 and every year since this plant was created her order has been faithfully obeyed1 and this plant acts not an obscure1 but essential1 part in the revolution of the seasons4 ,i am not ashamed to be contemporary with the ,norway cinquefoil4 ,may ,i perform my part as well6#cah ,there is so much done toward closing up the year's accounts4 ,it is as good as if ,i saw the great globe go round4 ,it is as if ,i saw the ,janus doors of the year closing4 ,the fall of each humblest flower marks the annual period of some phase of human life1 experience4 ,i can be said to note the flower's fall only when ,i see in it the symbol of my own change4 ,when ,i experience this1 then the flower appears to me4 ,drosera rotundifolia in ,moore's new field ditch4 ,the ,viola pedata and the houstonia now4 ,what is the peculiarity of these flowers that they blossom again8 ,is it merely because they blossomed so early in the spring1 and now are ready for a new spring8 ,they impress me as so much more native or naturalized here4 ,we love to see ,nature fruitful in whatever kind4 ,it assures us of her vigor and that she may equally bring forth the fruits which we prize4 ,i love to see the acorns plenty1 even on the shrub oaks1 aye1 and the nightshade berries4 ,i love to see the potato balls numerous and large1 as ,i go through a low field1 poisonous though they look1 the plant thus1 as it were1 bearing fruit at both ends1 saying ever and anon1 8,not only these tubers ,i offer you for the present1 but if you will have new varieties1--if these do not satisfy you1--plant these seeds40#cai ,what abundance6 what luxuriance6 what bounty6 ,the potato balls1 which are worthless to the farmer1 combine to make the general impression of the year's fruitfulness4 ,it is as cheering to me as the rapid increase of the population of ,new ,york4 ,aug4 #ca4 ,proserpinaca palustris1 spear-leaved proserpinaca1 mermaid-weed4 7,this in ,hubbard's ,grove on my way to ,conantum47 ,a hornets' 787 nest in a rather tall huckleberry bush1 the stems projecting through it1 the leaves spreading over it4 ,how these fellows avail themselves of the vegetables6 ,they kept arriving1 the great fellows1 but ,i never saw whence they came1 but only heard the buzz just at the entrance4 7,with whitish abdomens47 ,at length1 after ,i have stood before the nest five minutes1 during which time they had taken no notice of me1 two seemed to be consulting at the entrance1 and then one made a threatening dash at me and returned to the nest4 ,i took the hint and retired4 ,they spoke as plainly as man could have done4#cbj ,i see that the farmers have begun to top their corn4 ,examined my old friend the green locust 7871 shrilling on an alder leaf4 ,what relation does the fall dandelion bear to the spring dandelion8 ,there is a rank scent of tansy now on some roads1 disagreeable to many people from being associated in their minds with funerals1 where it is sometimes put into the coffin and about the corpse4 ,i have not observed much ,st4 ,john's-wort yet4 ,galium triflorum1 three-flowered cleavers1 in ,conant's ,spring ,swamp2 also fever-bush there1 now budded for next year4 ,tobacco-pipe 7,monotropa uniflora7 in ,spring ,swamp ,path4 ,i came out of the thick1 dark1 swampy wood as from night into day4 ,having forgotten the daylight1 ,i was surprised to see how bright it was4 ,i had light enough1 methought1 and here was an afternoon sun illumining all the landscape4 ,it was a surprise to me to see how much brighter an ordinary afternoon is than the light which penetrates a thick wood4 ,one of these drooping clusters of potato balls would be as good a symbol1 emblem1 of the year's fertility as anything1--better surely than a bunch of grapes4 ,fruit of the strong soil1 containing potash 7874 ,the vintage is come2 the olive is ripe4 8,i come to pluck your berries harsh and crude2 ,and with forc'd fingers rude1 ,shatter your leaves before the mellowing year20 ,why not for my coat-of-arms1 for device1 a drooping cluster of potato balls1--in a potato field8#cba ,what right has a ,new ,england poet to sing of wine1 who never saw a vineyard1 who obtains his liquor from the grocer1 who would not dare1 if he could1 tell him what it is composed of4 ,a ,yankee singing in praise of wine6 ,it is not sour grapes in this case1 it is sweet grapes2 the more inaccessible they are the sweeter they are4 ,it seemed to me that the year had nothing so much to brag of as these potato balls4 ,do they not concern ,new-,englanders a thousand times more than all her grapes8 ,in ,moore's new field they grow1 cultivated with the bog hoe1 manured with ashes and sphagnum4 ,how they take to the virgin soil6#cbb ,shannon tells me that he took a piece of bog land of ,augustus ,hayden1 cleared1 turned up the stumps and roots and burned it over1 making a coat of ashes six inches deep1 then planted potatoes4 ,he never put a hoe to it till he went to dig them2 then between #h o'clock ,a4 ,m4 and #e ,p4 ,m4 he and another man dug and housed seventy-five bushels apiece66 ,cohush now in fruit1 ivory-white berries tipped now with black on stout red pedicels1--,acta alba4 ,collinsonia ,canadensis1 horseweed4 ,i had discovered this singular flower there new to me1 and1 having a botany by me1 looked it out4 ,what a surprise and disappointment1 what an insult and impertinence to my curiosity and expectation1 to have given me the name 8horseweed60 ,cohush ,swamp is about twenty rods by three or four4 ,among rarer plants it contains the basswood1 the black 7as well as white7 ash1 the fever-bush1 the cohush1 the collinsonia1 not to mention sassafras1 poison sumach1 ivy1 agrimony1 ,arum triphyllum1 7sweet viburnum 787 in hedges near by71 ground-nut1 touch-me-not 7as high as your head71 and ,eupatorium purpureum 7eight feet1 eight inches high1 with a large convex corymb 7hemispherical7 of many stories1 fourteen inches wide2 width of plant from tip of leaf to tip of leaf two feet1 diameter of stalk one inch at ground1 leaves seven in a whorl74 ,rare plants seem to love certain localities4 ,as if the original ,conant had been a botanist and endeavored to form an arboretum4 ,a natural arboretum8 ,the handsome sweet viburnum berries1 now red on one cheek4 ,it was the filiform crowfoot 7,ranunculus filiformis7 that ,i saw by the riverside the other day and to-day4 ,the season advances apace4 ,the flowers of the nettle-leaved vervain are now near the ends of the spike1 like the blue4 ,utricularia inflata1 whorled bladderwort1 floating on the water at same place4 ,gentiana ,saponaria budded4 ,gerardia flava at ,conant's ,grove4 ,half an hour before sunset ,i was at ,tupelo ,cliff1 when1 looking up from my botanizing 7,i had been examining the ,ranunculus filiformis1 the ,sium latifolium 78 871 and the obtuse galium on the muddy shore71 ,i saw the seal of evening on the river4 ,there was a quiet beauty in the landscape at that hour which my senses were prepared to appreciate4 ,the sun going down on the west side1 that hand being already in shadow for the most part1 but his rays lighting up the water and the willows and pads even more than before4 ,his rays then fell at right angles on their stems4 ,i sitting on the old brown geologic rocks1 their feet submerged and covered with weedy moss 7utricularia roots874 ,sometimes their tops are submerged4 ,the cardinal-flowers standing by me4 ,the trivialness of the day is past4 ,the greater stillness1 the serenity of the air1 its coolness and transparency1 the mistiness being condensed1 are favorable to thought4 7,the pensive eve47 ,the coolness of evening comes to condense the haze of noon and make the air transparent and the outline of objects firm and distinct1 and chaste 7chaste eve72 even as ,i am made more vigorous by my bath1 am more continent of thought4 ,after bathing1 even at noonday1 a man realizes a morning or evening life4#cbc ,the evening air is such a bath for both mind and body4 ,when ,i have walked all day in vain under the torrid sun1 and the world has been all trivial1--as well field and wood as highway1--then at eve the sun goes down westward1 and the wind goes down with it1 and the dews begin to purify the air and make it transparent1 and the lakes and rivers acquire a glassy stillness1 reflecting the skies1 the reflex of the day4 ,i too am at the top of my condition for perceiving beauty4 ,thus1 long after feeding1 the diviner faculties begin to be fed1 to feel their oats1 their nutriment1 and are not oppressed by the belly's load4 ,it is abstinence from loading the belly anew until the brain and divine faculties have felt their vigor4 ,not till some hours does my food invigorate my brain1--ascendeth into the brain4 ,we practice at this hour an involuntary abstinence4 ,we are comparatively chaste and temperate as ,eve herself2 the nutriment is just reaching the brain4 ,every sound is music now4 ,the grating of some distant boat which a man is launching on the rocky bottom1--though here is no man nor inhabited house1 nor even cultivated field1 in sight1--this is heard with such distinctness that ,i listen with pleasure as if it was sic music4 ,the attractive point is that line where the water meets the land1 not distinct1 but known to exist4 ,the willows are not the less interesting because of their nakedness below4 ,how rich1 like what we love to read of ,south ,american primitive forests1 is the scenery of this river6 ,what luxuriance of weeds1 what depth of mud along its sides6 ,these old antehistoric1 geologic1 antediluvian rocks1 which only primitive wading birds1 still lingering among us1 are worthy to tread4 ,the season which we seem to live in anticipation of is arrived4 ,the water1 indeed1 reflects heaven because my mind does2 such is its own serenity1 its transparency and stillness4 ,with what sober joy ,i stand to let the water drip from me and feel my fresh vigor1 who have been bathing in the same tub which the muskrat uses6 ,such a medicated bath as only nature furnishes4 ,a fish leaps1 and the dimple he makes is observed now4 ,how ample and generous was nature6 ,my inheritance is not narrow4#cbd ,here is no other this evening4 ,those resorts which ,i most love and frequent1 numerous and vast as they are1 are as it were given up to me1 as much as if ,i were an autocrat or owner of the world1 and by my edicts excluded men from my territories4 ,perchance there is some advantage here not enjoyed in older countries4 ,there are said to be two thousand inhabitants in ,concord1 and yet ,i find such ample space and verge1 even miles of walking every day in which ,i do not meet nor see a human being1 and often not very recent traces of them4 ,so much of man as there is in your mind1 there will be in your eye4 ,methinks that for a great part of the time1 as much as it is possible1 ,i walk as one possessing the advantages of human culture1 fresh from society of men1 but turned loose into the woods1 the only man in nature1 walking and meditating to a great extent as if man and his customs and institutions were not4 ,the catbird1 or the jay1 is sure of the whole of your ear now4 ,each noise is like a stain on pure glass4 ,the rivers now1 these great blue subterranean heavens1 reflecting the supernal skies and red-tinted clouds4 ,a fly 7or gnat87 will often buzz round you and persecute you like an imp4 ,how much of imp-like1 pestering character they express6 7,i hear a boy driving home his cows47 ,what unanimity between the water and the sky6--one only a little denser element than the other4 ,the grossest part of heaven4 ,think of a mirror on so large a scale6 ,standing on distant hills1 you see the heavens reflected1 the evening sky1 in some low lake or river in the valley1 as perfectly as in any mirror they could be4 ,does it not prove how intimate heaven is with earth8 ,we commonly sacrifice to supper this serene and sacred hour4 ,our customs turn the hour of sunset to a trivial time1 as at the meeting of two roads1 one coming from the noon1 the other leading to the night4 ,it might be well if our repasts were taken out-of-doors1 in view of the sunset and the rising stars2 if there were two persons whose pulses beat together1 if men cared for the 1 or beauty of the world2 if men were social in a high and rare sense2 if they associated on high levels2 if we took in with our tea a draught of the transparent1 dew-freighted evening air2 if1 with our bread and butter1 we took a slice of the red western sky2 if the smoking1 steaming urn were the vapor on a thousand lakes and rivers and meads4 ,the air of the valleys at this hour is the distilled essence of all those fragrances which during the day have been filling and have been dispersed in the atmosphere4 ,the fine fragrances1 perchance1 which have floated in the upper atmospheres have settled to these low vales6 ,i talked of buying ,conantum once1 but for want of money we did not come to terms4 ,but ,i have farmed it in my own fashion every year since4 ,i have no objection to giving the names of some naturalists1 men of flowers1 to plants1 if by their lives they have identified themselves with them4 ,there may be a few ,kalmias4 ,but it must be done very sparingly1 or1 rather1 discriminatingly1 and no man's name be used who has not been such a lover of flowers that the flowers themselves may be supposed thus to reciprocate his love4 ,,viii ,,september1 #ahea 7,t4 #cd7 ,sept4 #a4 ,mikania scandens1 with its purplish white flowers1 now covering the button-bushes and willows by the side of the stream4 ,bidens chrysanthemoides1 large-flowered bidens1 edge of river4 ,various-colored polygonums standing high among the bushes and weeds by riverside1--white and reddish and red4 ,is not disease the rule of existence8 ,there is not a lily pad floating on the river but has been riddled by insects4 ,almost every shrub and tree has its gall1 oftentimes esteemed its chief ornament and hardly to be distinguished from the fruit4 ,if misery loves company1 misery has company enough4 ,now1 at midsummer1 find me a perfect leaf or fruit4 ,the fruit of the trilliums is very handsome4 ,i found some a month ago1 a singular red1 angular-cased pulp1 drooping1 with the old anthers surrounding it three quarters of an inch in diameter2 and now there is another kind1 a dense crowded cluster of many ovoid berries turning from green to scarlet or bright brick-color4 ,then there is the mottled fruit of the clustered ,solomon's-seal1 and also the greenish 7with blue meat7 fruit of the ,convallaria multiflora dangling from the axils of the leaves4 ,sept4 #b4 ,the dense fog came into my chamber early this morning1 freighted with light1 and woke me4 ,it was1 no doubt1 lighter at that hour than if there had been no fog4 ,not till after several months does an infant find its hands1 and it may be seen looking at them with astonishment1 holding them up to the light2 and so also it finds its toes4 ,how many faculties there are which we have never found6#cbe ,some men1 methinks1 have found only their hands and feet4 ,at least ,i have seen some who appeared never to have found their heads1 but used them only instinctively1 as the negro who butts with his1#cbf or the water-carrier who makes a pack-horse of his4 ,they have but partially found their heads4 ,we cannot write well or truly but what we write with gusto4 ,the body1 the senses1 must conspire with the mind4 ,expression is the act of the whole man1 that our speech may be vascular4 ,the intellect is powerless to express thought without the aid of the heart and liver and of every member4 ,often ,i feel that my head stands out too dry1 when it should be immersed4 ,a writer1 a man writing1 is the scribe of all nature2 he is the corn and the grass and the atmosphere writing4 ,it is always essential that we love to do what we are doing1 do it with a heart4 ,the maturity of the mind1 however1 may perchance consist with a certain dryness4 ,there are flowers of thought1 and there are leaves of thought2 most of our thoughts are merely leaves1 to which the thread of thought is the stem4 ,what affinity is it brings the goldfinch to the sunflower--both yellow--to pick its seeds8 ,whatever things ,i perceive with my entire man1 those let me record1 and it will be poetry4 ,the sounds which ,i hear with the consent and coincidence of all my senses1 these are significant and musical2 at least1 they only are heard4#cbg ,in a day or two the first message will be conveyed or transmitted over the magnetic telegraph through this town1 as a thought traverses space1 and no citizen of the town shall be aware of it4 ,the atmosphere is full of telegraphs equally unobserved4 ,we are not confined to ,morse's or ,house's or ,bain's line4 ,raise some sunflowers to attract the goldfinches1 to feed them as well as your hens4 ,what a broad and loaded1 bounteously filled platter of food is presented this bon-vivant6 ,here is one of those thick fogs which last well into the day4 ,while the farmer is concerned about the crops which his fields bear1 ,i will be concerned about the fertility of my human farm4 ,i will watch the winds and the rains as they affect the crop of thought1--the crop of crops1 ripe thoughts1 which glow and rustle and fill the air with fragrance for centuries4 ,is it a drought8 ,how long since we had a rain8 ,what is the state of the springs8 ,are the low springs high8 ,i now begin to pluck wild apples4 ,the difference is not great between some fruits in which the worm is always present and those gall fruits which were produced by the insect4 ,old ,cato says well1 8,patremfamilias vendacem1 non emacem1 esse oportet40 ,these ,latin terminations express better than any ,english that ,i know the greediness1 as it were1 and tenacity of purpose with which the husbandman and householder is required to be a seller and not a buyer1--with mastiff-like tenacity1--these lipped words1 which1 like the lips of moose and browsing creatures1 gather in the herbage and twigs with a certain greed4 ,this termination cious adds force to a word1 like the lips of browsing creatures1 which greedily collect what the jaw holds2 as in the word 8tenacious0 the first half represents the kind of jaw which holds1 the last the lips which collect4 ,it can only be pronounced by a certain opening and protruding of the lips2 so 8avaricious04 ,these words express the sense of their simple roots with the addition1 as it were1 of a certain lip greediness4 ,hence 8capacious0 and 8capacity10 8emacity40 ,when these expressive words are used1 the hearer gets something to chew upon4 ,to be a seller with the tenacity and firmness and steadiness of the jaws which hold and the greediness of the lips which collect4 ,the audacious man not only dares1 but he greedily collects more danger to dare4 ,the avaricious man not only desires and satisfies his desire1 but he collects ever new browse in anticipation of his ever-springing desires4 ,what is luscious is especially enjoyed by the lips4 ,the mastiff-mouthed are tenacious4 ,to be a seller with mastiff-mouthed tenacity of purpose1 with moose-lipped greediness1--ability to browse6 ,to be edacious and voracious is to be not nibbling and swallowing merely1 but eating and swallowing while the lips are greedily collecting more food4 ,there is a reptile in the throat of the greedy man always thirsting and famishing4 ,it is not his own natural hunger and thirst which he satisfies4 ,the more we know about the ancients1 the more we find that they were like the moderns4 ,when ,i read ,marcus ,cato ,de ,re ,rustica1 a small treatise or ,farmer's ,manual of those days1 fresh from the field of ,roman life1 all reeking with and redolent of the life of those days1 containing more indirect history than any of the histories of ,rome of direct1--all of that time but that time1--here is a simple1 direct1 pertinent word addressed to the ,romans4 ,and where are the ,romans8 ,rome and the ,romans are commonly a piece of rhetoric4 ,as if ,new ,england had disappeared poetically and there were left ,buel's 8,farmer's ,companion10 or the letters of ,solon ,robinson1 or a volume of extracts from the ,new ,england ,farmer4 ,though the ,romans are no more but a fable and an ornament of rhetoric1 we have here their ,new ,england ,farmer1 the very manual those ,roman farmers read1 speaking as if they were to hear it1 its voice not silenced1 as if ,rome were still the mistress of the world1--as fresh as a dripping dish-cloth from a ,roman kitchen4#cbh ,as when you overhaul the correspondence of a man who died fifty years ago1 with like surprise and feelings you overhaul the manuscripts of the ,roman nation4 ,there exist certain old papers1 manuscripts1 either the originals or faithful and trustworthy old copies of the originals1 which were left by the ,roman people4 ,they have gone their way1 but these old papers of all sorts remain4 ,among them there are some farm journals1 or farm books2 just such a collection of diary and memorandum--as when the cow calved1 and the dimensions1 with a plan1 of the barn1 and how much paid to ,joe ,farrar for work done on the farm1 etc41 etc4--as you might find in an old farmer's pocket-book to-day4 ,indeed the farmer's was pretty much the same routine then as now4 ,cato says3 8,sterquilinium magnum stude ut habeas4 ,stercus sedulo conserva1 cum exportabis purgato et comminuito4 ,per autumnum evehito40 7,study to have a great dungheap4 ,carefully preserve your dung1 when you carry it out1 make clean work of it and break it up fine4 ,carry it out during the autumn47 ,just such directions as you find in the 8,farmer's ,almanack0 to-day4 ,it reminds me of what ,i see going on in our fields every autumn4 ,as if the farmers of ,concord were obeying ,cato's directions4 ,and ,cato but repeated the maxims of a remote antiquity4 ,nothing can be more homely and suggestive of the every-day life of the ,roman agriculturalists1 thus supplying the very deficiencies in what is commonly called ,roman history1 i4 e4 revealing to us the actual life of the ,romans1 the how they got their living and what they did from day to day4#cbi ,they planted rapa1 raphanos1 milium1 and panicum in low foggy land1 ager nebulosus4 ,i see the farmer now--i4 e4 ,i shall in autumn--on every side carting out his manure and sedulously making his compost-heap1 or scattering it over his grass ground and breaking it up with a mallet2 and it reminds me of ,cato's advice4 ,he died one hundred and fifty years before ,christ4#ccj ,before ,christianity was heard of1 this was done4 ,a ,roman family appears to have had a great supply of tubs and kettles4 ,a fire in the sitting-room to-day4 ,walk in the afternoon by ,walden road and railroad to ,minn's place1 and round it to railroad and home4 ,the first coolness is welcome1 so serious and fertile of thought4 ,my skin contracts1 and ,i become more continent4 ,carried umbrellas1 it mizzling4 ,as in the night1 now in the rain1 ,i smell the fragrance of the woods4 ,the prunella leaves have turned a delicate claret or lake color by the roadside4 ,i am interested in these revolutions as much as in those of kingdoms4 ,is there not tragedy enough in the autumn8 ,walden seems to be going down at last4 ,the pines are dead and leaning1 red and half upset1 about its shore4 ,thus1 by its rising once in twenty-five years1 perchance1 it keeps an open shore1 as if the ice had heaved them over4 ,found the succory at ,minn's ,bridge on railroad and beyond4 ,query3 ,may not this and the tree-primrose and other plants be distributed from ,boston on the rays of the railroads1 the seeds mixing with the grains and all kinds of dirt and being blown from the passing freight-cars8 ,the feathery-tailed fruit of the fertile flowers of the clematis conspicuous now4 ,the shorn meadows looked of a living green as we came home at eve1 even greener than in spring4 ,the faenum cordum1 the aftermath1 sicilimenta de prato1 the second mowings of the meadow1 this reminds me of1 in ,cato4#cca ,sept4 #c4 ,why was there never a poem on the cricket8 ,its creak seems to me to be one of the most prominent and obvious facts in the world1 and the least heeded4 ,in the report of a man's contemplations ,i look to see somewhat answering to this sound4#ccb ,when ,i sat on ,lee's ,cliff the other day 7,august #bith71 ,i saw a man working with a horse in a field by the river1 carting dirt2 and the horse and his relation to him struck me as very remarkable4 ,there was the horse1 a mere animated machine1--though his tail was brushing off the flies1--his whole existence subordinated to the man's1 with no tradition1 perhaps no instinct1 in him of independence and freedom1 of a time when he was wild and free1--completely humanized4 ,no compact made with him that he should have the ,saturday afternoons1 or the ,sundays1 or any holidays4 ,his independence never recognized1 it being now quite forgotten both by men and by horses that the horse was ever free4 ,for ,i am not aware that there are any wild horses known surely not to be descended from tame ones4 ,assisting that man to pull down that bank and spread it over the meadow2 only keeping off the flies with his tail1 and stamping1 and catching a mouthful of grass or leaves from time to time1 on his own account1--all the rest for man4 ,it seemed hardly worth while that he should be animated for this4 ,it was plain that the man was not educating the horse2 not trying to develop his nature1 but merely getting work out of him4 ,that mass of animated matter seemed more completely the servant of man than any inanimate4 ,for slaves have their holidays2 a heaven is conceded to them1 but to the horse none4 ,now and forever he is man's slave4 ,the more ,i considered1 the more the man seemed akin to the horse2 only his was the stronger will of the two4 ,for a little further on ,i saw an ,irishman shovelling1 who evidently was as much tamed as the horse4 ,he had stipulated that to a certain extent his independence be recognized1 and yet really he was but little more independent4 ,i had always instinctively regarded the horse as a free people somewhere1 living wild4 ,whatever has not come under the sway of man is wild4 ,in this sense original and independent men are wild1--not tamed and broken by society4 ,now for my part ,i have such a respect for the horse's nature as would tempt me to let him alone2 not to interfere with him1--his walks1 his diet1 his loves4 ,but by mankind he is treated simply as if he were an engine which must have rest and is sensible of pain4 ,suppose that every squirrel were made to turn a coffee-mill6 ,suppose that the gazelles were made to draw milk-carts6 ,there he was with his tail cut off1 because it was in the way1 or to suit the taste of his owner2 his mane trimmed1 and his feet shod with iron that he might wear longer4 ,what is a horse but an animal that has lost its liberty8 ,what is it but a system of slavery8 and do you not thus by insensible and unimportant degrees come to human slavery8 ,has lost its liberty6--and has man got any more liberty himself for having robbed the horse1 or has he lost just as much of his own1 and become more like the horse he has robbed8 ,is not the other end of the bridle in this case1 too1 coiled round his own neck8 ,hence stable-boys1 jockeys1 all that class that is daily transported by fast horses4 ,there he stood with his oblong square figure 7his tail being cut off7 seen against the water1 brushing off the flies with his tail and stamping1 braced back while the man was filling the cart4#ccc ,it is a very remarkable and significant fact that1 though no man is quite well or healthy1 yet every one believes practically that health is the rule and disease the exception1 and each invalid is wont to think himself in a minority1 and to postpone somewhat of endeavor to another state of existence4 ,but it may be some encouragement to men to know that in this respect they stand on the same platform1 that disease is1 in fact1 the rule of our terrestrial life and the prophecy of a celestial life4 ,where is the coward who despairs because he is sick8 ,every one may live either the life of ,achilles or of ,nestor4 ,seen in this light1 our life with all its diseases will look healthy1 and in one sense the more healthy as it is the more diseased4 ,disease is not the accident of the individual1 nor even of the generation1 but of life itself4 ,in some form1 and to some degree or other1 it is one of the permanent conditions of life4 ,it is1 nevertheless1 a cheering fact that men affirm health unanimously1 and esteem themselves miserable failures4 ,here was no blunder4 ,they gave us life on exactly these conditions1 and methinks we shall live it with more heart when we perceive clearly that these are the terms on which we have it4 ,life is a warfare1 a struggle1 and the diseases of the body answer to the troubles and defeats of the spirit4 ,man begins by quarrelling with the animal in him1 and the result is immediate disease4 ,in proportion as the spirit is the more ambitious and persevering1 the more obstacles it will meet with4 ,it is as a seer that man asserts his disease to be exceptional4#ccd 99 99 99 99 99 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to ,hubbard's ,swimming-,place and ,grove in rain4 ,as ,i went under the new telegraph-wire1 ,i heard it vibrating like a harp high overhead4 ,it was as the sound of a far-off glorious life1 a supernal life1 which came down to us1 and vibrated the lattice-work of this life of ours4#cce ,the melons and the apples seem at once to feed my brain4 ,here comes a laborer from his dinner to resume his work at clearing out a ditch notwithstanding the rain1 remembering as ,cato says1 per ferias potuisse fossas veteres tergeri1 that in the holidays old ditches might have been cleared out4 ,one would think that ,i were the paterfamilias come to see if the steward of my farm has done his duty4 ,the ivy leaves are turning red4 ,fall dandelions stand thick in the meadows4 ,how much the ,roman must have been indebted to his agriculture1 dealing with the earth1 its clods and stubble1 its dust and mire4 ,their farmer consuls were their glory1 and they well knew the farm to be the nursery of soldiers4 ,read ,cato to see what kind of legs the ,romans stood on4 ,the leaves of the hardhack are somewhat appressed1 clothing the stem and showing their downy under sides like white1 waving wands4 ,is it peculiar to the season1 or the rain1--or the plant8 ,walk often in drizzly weather1 for then the small weeds 7especially if they stand on bare ground71 covered with rain-drops like beads1 appear more beautiful than ever1--the hypericums1 for instance4 ,they are equally beautiful when covered with dew1 fresh and adorned1 almost spirited away1 in a robe of dewdrops4#ccf ,some farmers have begun to thresh and winnow their oats4 ,identified spotted spurge 7,euphorbia maculata71 apparently out of blossom4 ,shepherd's-purse and chickweed4 ,as for walking1 the inhabitants of large ,english towns are confined almost exclusively to their parks and to the highways4 ,the few footpaths in their vicinities 8are gradually vanishing10 says ,wilkinson1 8under the encroachments of the proprietors40 ,he proposes that the people's right to them be asserted and defended and that they be kept in a passable state at the public expense4 8,this10 says he1 8would be easily done by means of asphalt laid upon a good foundation0666 ,so much for walking1 and the prospects of walking1 in the neighborhood of ,english large towns4 ,think of a man--he may be a genius of some kind--being confined to a highway and a park for his world to range in6 ,i should die from mere nervousness at the thought of such confinement4 ,i should hesitate before ,i were born1 if those terms could be made known to me beforehand4 ,fenced in forever by those green barriers of fields1 where gentlemen are seated6 ,can they be said to be inhabitants of this globe8 ,will they be content to inhabit heaven thus partially8 ,sept4 #d4 #h ,a4 ,m4--,a clear and pleasant day after the rain4 ,start for ,boon's ,pond in ,stow with ,c4 ,every sight and sound was the more interesting for the clear atmosphere4 ,when you are starting away1 leaving your more familiar fields1 for a little adventure like a walk1 you look at every object with a traveller's1 or at least with historical1 eyes2 you pause on the first bridge1 where an ordinary walk hardly commences1 and begin to observe and moralize like a traveller4 ,it is worth the while to see your native village thus sometimes1 as if you were a traveller passing through it1 commenting on your neighbors as strangers4#ccg ,we stood thus on ,wood's ,bridge1 the first bridge1 in the capacity of pilgrims and strangers to its familiarity1 giving it one more chance with us1 though our townsmen who passed may not have perceived it4 ,there was a pretty good-sized pickerel poised over the sandy bottom close to the shore and motionless as a shadow4 ,it is wonderful how they resist the slight current of our river and remain thus stationary for hours4 ,he1 no doubt1 saw us plainly on the bridge1--in the sunny water1 his whole form distinct and his shadow1--motionless as the steel trap which does not spring till the fox's foot has touched it4 ---- ----'s dog sprang up1 ran out1 and growled at us1 and in his eye ,i seemed to see the eye of his master4 ,i have no doubt but that1 as is the master1 such in course of time tend to become his herds and flocks as well as dogs4 ,one man's oxen will be clever and solid1 another's mischievous1 another's mangy1--in each case like their respective owners4 ,no doubt man impresses his own character on the beasts which he tames and employs2 they are not only humanized1 but they acquire his particular human nature4#cch ,how much oxen are like farmers generally1 and cows like farmers' wives6 and young steers and heifers like farmers' boys and girls6 ,the farmer acts on the ox1 and the ox reacts on the farmer4 ,they do not meet half-way1 it is true1 but they do meet at a distance from the centre of each proportionate to each one's intellectual power4#cci ,the farmer is ox-like in his thought1 in his walk1 in his strength1 in his trustworthiness1 in his taste4#cdj ,hosmer's man was cutting his millet1 and his buckwheat already lay in red piles in the field4 ,the first picture we noticed was where the road turned among the pitch pines and showed the ,hadley house1 with the high wooded hill behind with dew and sun on it1 the gracefully winding road path1 and a more distant horizon on the right of the house4 ,just beyond1 on the left1 it was pleasant walking where the road was shaded by a high hill1 as it can be only in the morning4 ,even in the morning that additional coolness and early-dawn-like feeling of a more sacred and earlier season are agreeable4 ,the lane in front of ,tarbell's house1 which is but little worn and appears to lead nowhere1 though it has so wide and all-engulfing an opening1 suggested that such things might be contrived for effect in laying out grounds4 7,only those things are sure to have the greatest and best effect1 which like this were not contrived for the sake of effect47 ,an open path which would suggest walking and adventuring on it1 the going to some place strange and far away4 ,it would make you think of or imagine distant places and spaces greater than the estate4 ,it was pleasant1 looking back just beyond1 to see a heavy shadow 7made by some high birches7 reaching quite across the road4 ,light and shadow are sufficient contrast and furnish sufficient excitement when we are well4 ,now we were passing the vale of ,brown and ,tarbell1 a sunshiny mead pastured by cattle and sparkling with dew1 the sound of crows and swallows heard in the air1 and leafy-columned elms seen here and there shining with dew4 ,the morning freshness and unworldliness of that domain6#cda ,the vale of ,tempe and of ,arcady is not farther off than are the conscious lives of men from their opportunities4 ,our life is as far from corresponding to its scenery as we are distant from ,tempe and ,arcadia2 that is to say1 they are far away because we are far from living natural lives4 ,how absurd it would be to insist on the vale of ,tempe in particular when we have such vales as we have6 ,in the ,marlborough road1 in the woods1 ,i saw a purple streak like a stain on the red pine leaves and sand under my feet1 which ,i was surprised to find was made by a dense mass of purple fleas1 somewhat like snow-fleas1--a faint purple stain as if some purple dye had been spilt4 ,what is that slender pink flower that ,i find in the ,marlborough road1--smaller than a snapdragon8 ,the slender stems of grass which hang over the ruts and horses' path in this little-frequented road are so laden with dew that ,i am compelled to hold a bush before me to shake it off4 ,the jays scream on the right and left and are seen flying further off as we go by4 ,we drink in the meadow at ,second ,division ,brook1 then sit awhile to watch its yellowish pebbles and the cress 787 in it and other weeds4 ,the ripples cover its surface like a network and are faithfully reflected on the bottom4 ,in some places1 the sun reflected from ripples on a flat stone looks like a golden comb4 ,the whole brook seems as busy as a loom3 it is a woof and warp of ripples2 fairy fingers are throwing the shuttle at every step1 and the long1 waving brook is the fine product4 ,the water is wonderfully clear4 ,to have a hut here1 and a footpath to the brook6 ,for roads1 ,i think that a poet cannot tolerate more than a footpath through the fields2 that is wide enough1 and for purposes of winged poesy suffices4 ,it is not for the muse to speak of cart-paths4 ,i would fain travel by a footpath round the world4#cdb ,i do not ask the railroads of commerce1 not even the cart-paths of the farmer4 ,pray1 what other path would you have than a footpath8 ,what else should wear a path8 ,this is the track of man alone4 ,what more suggestive to the pensive walker8#cdc ,one walks in a wheel-track with less emotion2 he is at a greater distance from man2 but this footpath was1 perchance1 worn by the bare feet of human beings1 and he cannot but think with interest of them4 ,the grapes1 though their leaves are withering and falling1 are yet too sour to eat4 ,in the summer we lay up a stock of experiences for the winter1 as the squirrel of nuts1--something for conversation in winter evenings4 ,i love to think then of the more distant walks ,i took in summer4#cdd ,at the powder-mills the carbonic acid gas in the road from the building where they were making charcoal made us cough for twenty or thirty rods4 ,saw some gray squirrels whirling their cylinder by the roadside4 ,how fitted that cylinder to this animal6 8,a squirrel is easily taught to turn his cylinder0 might be a saying frequently applicable4 ,and as they turned1 one leaped over or dodged under another most gracefully and unexpectedly1 with interweaving motions4 ,it was the circus and menagerie combined4 ,so human they were1 exhibiting themselves4 ,in the ,marlborough road1 ,i forgot to say1 we brushed the ,polygonum articulatum with its spikes of reddish-white flowers1 a slender and tender plant which loves the middle of dry and sandy not-much-travelled roads4 ,to find that the very atoms bloom1 that there are flowers we rudely brush against which only the microscope reveals6 ,it is wise to write on many subjects1 to try many themes1 that so you may find the right and inspiring one4 ,be greedy of occasions to express your thought4 ,improve the opportunity to draw analogies4 ,there are innumerable avenues to a perception of the truth4 ,improve the suggestion of each object however humble1 however slight and transient the provocation4 ,what else is there to be improved8 ,who knows what opportunities he may neglect8 ,it is not in vain that the mind turns aside this way or that3 follow its leading2 apply it whither it inclines to go4 ,probe the universe in a myriad points4 ,be avaricious of these impulses4 ,you must try a thousand themes before you find the right one1 as nature makes a thousand acorns to get one oak4 ,he is a wise man and experienced who has taken many views2 to whom stones and plants and animals and a myriad objects have each suggested something1 contributed something4#cde ,and now1 methinks1 this wider wood-path#cdf is not bad1 for it admits of society more conveniently4 ,two can walk side by side in it in the ruts1 aye1 and one more in the horse-track4#cdg ,the ,indian walked in single file1 more solitary1--not side by side1 chatting as he went4 ,the woodman's cart and sled make just the path two walkers want through the wood4 ,beyond the powder-mills we watched some fat oxen1 elephantine1 behemoths1--one ,rufus-,hosmer-eyed1 with the long lash and projecting eye-ball4 ,now past the paper-mills1 by the westernmost road east of the river1 the first new ground we've reached4 ,not only the prunella turns lake1 but the ,hypericum ,virginicum in the hollows by the roadside1--a handsome blush4 ,a part of the autumnal tints1 ripe leaves4 ,leaves acquire red blood4 ,red colors touch our blood1 and excite us as well as cows and geese4 ,and now we leave the road and go through the woods and swamps toward ,boon's ,pond1 crossing two or three roads and by ,potter's house in ,stow2 still on east of river4 ,the fruit of the ,pyrola rotundifolia in the damp woods4 ,larch trees in ,stow about the houses4 ,beyond ,potter's we struck into the extensive wooded plain where the ponds are found in ,stow1 ,sudbury1 and ,marlborough4 ,part of it called ,boon's ,plain4#cdh ,boon said to have lived on or under ,bailey's ,hill at west of pond4 ,killed by ,indians between ,boon's ,pond and ,white's ,pond as he was driving his ox-cart4 ,the oxen ran off to ,marlborough garrison-house4 ,his remains have been searched for4 ,a sandy plain1 a large level tract4 ,the pond shores handsome enough1 but water shallow and muddy looking4 ,well-wooded shores4 ,the maples begin to show red about it4 ,much fished4 ,saw a load of sunflowers in a farmers sic4 ,such is the destiny of this large1 coarse flower2 the farmers gather it like pumpkins4 ,returned by railroad down the ,assabet4 ,a potato-field yellow with wild radish4 ,but no good place to bathe for three miles1 ,knight's new dam has so raised the river4 ,a permanent freshet1 as it were1 the fluviatile trees standing dead for fish hawk perches1 and the water stagnant for weeds to grow in4 ,you have only to dam up a running stream to give it the aspect of a dead stream1 and to some degree restore its primitive wild appearance4 ,tracts made inaccessible to man and at the same time more fertile4 ,some speculator comes and dams up the stream below1 and lo6 the water stands over all meadows1 making impassable morasses and dead trees for fish hawks1--a wild1 stagnant1 fenny country1 the last gasp of wildness before it yields to the civilization of the factory1--to cheer the eyes of the factory people and educate them4 ,it makes a little wilderness above the factories4 ,the woodbine now begins to hang red about the maples and other trees4 ,as ,i looked back up the stream from near the bridge 7,i suppose on the road from ,potter's house to ,stow71 ,i on the railroad1 ,i saw the ripples sparkling in the sun1 reminding me of the sparkling icy fleets which ,i saw last winter2 and ,i saw how one corresponded to the other1 ice waves to water ones2 the erect ice-flakes were the waves stereotyped4 ,it was the same sight1 the reflection of the sun sparkling from a myriad slanting surfaces at a distance1 a rippled water surface or a crystallized frozen one4 ,illustration ,here crossed the river and climbed the high hills on the west side4 ,the walnut trees conformed in their branches to the slope of the hill1 being just as high from the ground on the upper side as on the lower4 ,on all sides now ,i see and smell the withering leaves of brush that has been cut to clear the land4 ,i see some blackened tracts which have been burnt over4 ,it is remarkable1 for it is rare to see the surface of the earth black4 ,and in the horizon ,i can see the smokes of several fires4 ,the farmers improve this season1 which is the driest1 their haying being done and their harvest not begun1 to do these jobs1--burn brush1 build walls1 dig ditches1 cut turf4 ,this is what ,i find them doing all over the country now2 also topping corn and digging potatoes4 ,saw quite a flock1 for the first time1 of goldfinches4 ,on the high1 round hills in the east and southeast of ,stow1--perchance they are called the ,assabet ,hills1--rising directly from the river4 ,they are the highest ,i know rising thus4 ,the rounded hills of ,stow4 ,a hill and valley country4 ,very different from ,concord4 ,it had been a warm day1 especially warm to the head4 ,i do not perspire as in the early summer1 but am sensible of the ripening heat1 more as if by contact4 ,suddenly the wind changed to east1 and the atmosphere grew more and more hazy and thick on that side1 obstructing the view1 while it was yet clear in the west4 ,i thought it was the result of the cooler air from over the sea meeting and condensing the vapor in the warm air of the land4 ,that was the haze1 or thin1 dry fog which some call smoke4 ,it gradually moved westward and affected the prospect on that side somewhat4 ,it was a very thin fog invading all the east4 ,i felt the cool air from the ocean1 and it was very refreshing4 ,i opened my bosom and my mouth to inhale it4 ,very delicious and invigorating4 ,we sat on the top of those hills looking down on the new brick ice-house4 ,where there are several hills near together1 you cannot determine at once which is the highest1 whether the one you are on or the next4 ,so1 when great men are assembled1 each yields an uncertain respect to the other1 as if it were not certain whose crown rose highest4 ,under the nut trees on these hills1 the grass is short and green as if grazed close by cattle who had stood there for shade1 making a distinct circular yard4 ,yet1 as there is no dung and the form corresponds so closely to the tree1 ,i doubt if that can be the cause4 ,on hillside north of river above powder-mills the ,pycnanthemum incanum 7mountain mint1 calamint7 and the ,lespedeza violacea4 ,saw what ,i thought a small red dog in the road1 which cantered along over the bridge this side the powder-mills and then turned into the woods4 ,this decided me--this turning into the woods--that it was a fox4 ,the dog of the woods1 the dog that is more at home in the woods than in the roads and fields4 ,i do not often see a dog turning into the woods4 ,some large white 787 oak acorns this side the last-named bridge4 ,a few oaks stand in the pastures still1 great ornaments4 ,i do not see any young ones springing up to supply their places4 ,will there be any a hundred years hence8 ,these are the remnants of the primitive wood1 methinks4 ,we are a young people and have not learned by experience the consequence of cutting off the forest4 ,one day they will be planted1 methinks1 and nature reinstated to some extent4 ,i love to see the yellow knots and their lengthened stain on the dry1 unpainted pitch8-pine boards on barns and other buildings1--the ,dugan house1 for instance4 ,the indestructible yellow fat6 it fats my eyes to see it2 worthy for art to imitate1 telling of branches in the forest once4 ,sept #e4 ,no doubt1 like plants1 we are fed through the atmosphere1 and the varying atmospheres of various seasons of the year feed us variously4 ,how often we are sensible of being thus fed and invigorated6 ,and all nature contributes to this aerial diet its food of finest quality4 ,methinks that in the fragrance of the fruits ,i get a finer flavor1 and in beauty 7which is appreciated by sight--the taste and smell of the eye7 a finer still4 ,as ,wilkinson says1 8the physical man himself is the builded aroma of the world4 ,this then1 at least1 is the office of the lungs--to drink the atmosphere with the planet dissolved in it40 8,what is the import of change of air1 and how each pair of lungs has a native air under some one dome of the sky40 ,wilkinson's book to some extent realizes what ,i have dreamed of1--a return to the primitive analogical and derivative senses of words4 ,his ability to trace analogies often leads him to a truer word than more remarkable writers have found2 as when1 in his chapter on the human skin1 he describes the papillary cutis as 8an encampment of small conical tents coextensive with the surface of the body40 ,the faith he puts in old and current expressions as having sprung from an instinct wiser than science1 and safely to be trusted if they can be interpreted4 ,the man of science discovers no world for the mind of man with all its faculties to inhabit4 ,wilkinson finds a home for the imagination1 and it is no longer outcast and homeless4 ,all perception of truth is the detection of an analogy2 we reason from our hands to our head4 ,it is remarkable that ,kalm says in #agdh 7being in ,philadelphia73 8,coals have not yet been found in ,pennsylvania2 but people pretend to have seen them higher up in the country among the natives4 ,many people however agree that they are met with in great quantity more to the north1 near ,cape ,breton40 99 99 99 99 99 ,as we grow old we live more coarsely1 we relax a little in our disciplines1 and1 to some extent1 cease to obey our finest instincts4 ,we are more careless about our diet and our chastity4 ,but we should be fastidious to the extreme of sanity4#cdi ,all wisdom is the reward of a discipline1 conscious or unconscious4 ,by moonlight at ,potter's ,field toward ,bear ,garden ,hill1 #h ,p4 ,m4 ,the whip-poor-wills sing4 ,cultivate reverence4 ,it is as if you were so much more respectable yourself4 ,by the quality of a man's writing1 by the elevation of its tone1 you may measure his self-respect4 ,how shall a man continue his culture after manhood8 ,moonlight on ,fair ,haven ,pond seen from the ,cliffs4 ,a sheeny lake in the midst of a boundless forest1 the windy surf sounding freshly and wildly in the single pine behind you2 the silence of hushed wolves in the wilderness1 and1 as you fancy1 moose looking off from the shore of the lake4 ,the stars of poetry and history and unexplored nature looking down on the scene4 ,this is my world now1 with a dull whitish mark curving northward through the forest marking the outlet to the lake4 ,fair ,haven by moonlight lies there like a lake in the ,maine wilderness in the midst of a primitive forest untrodden by man4 ,this light and this hour take the civilization all out of the landscape4 ,even in villages dogs bay the moon2 in forests like this we listen to hear wolves howl to ,cynthia4 ,even at this hour in the evening the crickets chirp1 the small birds peep1 the wind roars in the wood1 as if it were just before dawn4 ,the moonlight seems to linger as if it were giving way to the light of coming day4 ,the landscape seen from the slightest elevation by moonlight is seen remotely1 and flattened1 as it were1 into mere light and shade1 open field and forest1 like the surface of the earth seen from the top of a mountain4 ,how much excited we are1 how much recruited1 by a great many particular fragrances6 ,a field of ripening corn1 now at night1 that has been topped1 with the stalks stacked up to dry1--an inexpressibly dry1 rich1 sweet1 ripening scent4#cej ,i feel as if ,i were an ear of ripening corn myself4 ,is not the whole air then a compound of such odors undistinguishable8 ,drying corn-stalks in a field2 what an herb-garden6#cea ,sept4 #f4 ,the other afternoon ,i met ,sam ,h---- walking on the railroad between the depot and the back road4 ,it was something quite novel to see him there1 though the railroad there is only a short thoroughfare to the public road4 ,it then occurred to me that ,i had never met ,mr4 ,h4 on the railroad1 though he walks every day1 and moreover that it would be quite impossible for him to walk on the railroad1 such a formalist as he is1 such strait-jackets we weave for ourselves4 ,he could do nothing that was not sanctioned by the longest use of men1 and as men had voted in all their assemblies from the first to travel on the public way1 he would confine himself to that4 ,it would no doubt seem to him very improper1 not to say undignified1 to walk on the railroad2 and then1 is it not forbidden by the railroad corporations8 ,i was sure he could not keep the railroad1 but was merely using the thoroughfare here which a thousand pioneers had prepared for him4 ,i stood to see what he would do4 ,he turned off the rails directly on to the back road and pursued his walk4 ,a passing train will never meet him on the railroad causeway4 ,how much of the life of certain men goes to sustain1 to make respected1 the institutions of society4 ,they are the ones who pay the heaviest tax4 ,here are certain valuable institutions which can only be sustained by a wonderful strain which appears all to come upon certain ,spartans who volunteer4 ,certain men are always to be found--especially the children of our present institutions--who are born with an instinct to perceive them4 ,they are1 in effect1 supported by a fund which society possesses for that end1 or they receive a pension and their life seems to be a sinecure1--but it is not4 ,the unwritten laws are the most stringent4 ,they are required to wear a certain dress4 ,what an array of gentlemen whose sole employment--and it is no sinecure--is to support their dignity1 and with it the dignity of so many indispensable institutions6 ,the use of many vegetables--wild plants--for food1 which botanists relate1 such as ,kalm at ,cap aux ,oyes on the ,st4 ,lawrence1 viz4 the sea plantain1 sea-rocket1 sweet-gale1 etc41 etc41 making us feel the poorer at first because we never use them1 really advertises us of our superior riches1 and shows to what extremities men have been driven in times of scarcity4 ,no people that fare as well as we will grub these weeds out of the seashore4 99 99 99 99 99 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to ,hapgood's in ,acton direct1 returning via ,strawberry ,hill and ,smith's ,road4 ,the ripening grapes begin to fill the air with their fragrance4 ,the vervain will hardly do for a clock1 for ,i perceive that some later and smaller specimens have not much more than begun to blossom1 while most have done4 ,saw a tall pear tree by the roadside beyond ,harris's in front of ,hapgood's4 ,saw the lambkill 7,kalmia angustifolia7 in blossom--a few fresh blossoms at the ends of the fresh twigs--on ,strawberry ,hill1 beautiful bright flowers4 ,apparently a new spring with it1 while seed vessels1 apparently of this year1 hung dry below4 ,from ,strawberry ,hill the first1 but a very slight1 glimpse of ,nagog ,pond by standing up on the wall4 ,that is enough to relate of a hill1 methinks1 that its elevation gives you the first sight of some distant lake4 ,the horizon is remarkably blue with mist this afternoon4 ,looking from this hill over ,acton1 successive valleys filled with blue mist appear1 and divided by darker lines of wooded hills4 ,the shadows of the elms are deepened1 as if the whole atmosphere were permeated by floods of ether4 ,annursnack never looked so well as now seen from this hill4 ,the ether gives a velvet softness to the whole landscape4 ,the hills float in it4 ,a blue veil is drawn over the earth4 ,the elecampane 7,inula ,helenium71 with its broad leaves wrinkled underneath and the remains of sunflower-like blossoms1 in front of ,nathan ,brooks's1 ,acton1 and near ,j4 ,h4 ,wheeler's4 ,prenanthes alba2 this ,gray calls ,nabalus albus1 white lettuce or rattlesnake-root4 ,also ,i seem 787 to have found ,nabalus ,fraseri1 or lion's-foot4 ,every morning for a week there has been a fog which all disappeared by seven or eight o'clock4 ,a large field of sunflowers for hens now in full bloom at ,temple's1 surrounding the house1 and now1 at #f o'clock ,p4 ,m41 facing the east4 ,the larches in the front yards1 both ,scotch and ,american1 have turned red4 ,their fall has come4 ,sept4 #g4 ,we sometimes experience a mere fullness of life1 which does not find any channels to flow into4 ,we are stimulated1 but to no obvious purpose4 ,i feel myself uncommonly prepared for some literary work1 but ,i can select no work4 ,i am prepared not so much for contemplation1 as for forceful expression4 ,i am braced both physically and intellectually4 ,it is not so much the music as the marching to the music that ,i feel4 ,i feel that the juices of the fruits which ,i have eaten1 the melons and apples1 have ascended to my brain and are stimulating it4 ,they give me a heady force4 ,now ,i can write nervously4 ,carlyle's writing is for the most part of this character4 ,miss ,martineau's last book is not so bad as the timidity which fears its influence4 ,as if the popularity of this or that book would be so fatal1 and man would not still be man in the world4 ,nothing is so much to be feared as fear4 ,atheism may comparatively be popular with ,god himself4#ceb ,what shall we say of these timid folk who carry the principle of thinking nothing and doing nothing and being nothing to such an extreme8 ,as if1 in the absence of thought1 that vast yearning of their natures for something to fill the vacuum made the least traditionary expression and shadow of a thought to be clung to with instinctive tenacity4 ,they atone for their producing nothing by a brutish respect for something4 ,they are as simple as oxen1 and as guiltless of thought and reflection4 ,their reflections are reflected from other minds4 ,the creature of institutions1 bigoted and a conservatist1 can say nothing hearty4 ,he cannot meet life with life1 but only with words4 ,he rebuts you by avoiding you4 ,he is shocked like a woman4 ,our ecstatic states1 which appear to yield so little fruit1 have this value at least3 though in the seasons when our genius reigns we may be powerless for expression1 yet1 in calmer seasons1 when our talent is active1 the memory of those rarer moods comes to color our picture and is the permanent paint-pot1 as it were1 into which we dip our brush4 ,thus no life or experience goes unreported at last2 but if it be not solid gold it is gold-leaf1 which gilds the furniture of the mind4 ,it is an experience of infinite beauty on which we unfailingly draw1 which enables us to exaggerate ever truly4 ,our moments of inspiration are not lost though we have no particular poem to show for them2 for those experiences have left an indelible impression1 and we are ever and anon reminded of them4 ,their truth subsides1 and in cooler moments we can use them as paint to gild and adorn our prose4 ,when ,i despair to sing them1 ,i will remember that they will furnish me with paint with which to adorn and preserve the works of talent one day4 ,they are like a pot of pure ether4 ,they lend the writer when the moment comes a certain superfluity of wealth1 making his expression to overrun and float itself4 ,it is the difference between our river1 now parched and dried up1 exposing its unsightly and weedy bottom1 and the same when1 in the spring1 it covers all the meads with a chain of placid lakes1 reflecting the forests and the skies4 ,we are receiving our portion of the infinite4 ,the art of life6 ,was there ever anything memorable written upon it8 ,by what disciplines to secure the most life1 with what care to watch our thoughts4 ,to observe what transpires1 not in the street1 but in the mind and heart of me6 ,i do not remember any page which will tell me how to spend this afternoon4 ,i do not so much wish to know how to economize time as how to spend it1 by what means to grow rich1 that the day may not have been in vain4 ,what if one moon has come and gone with its world of poetry1 its weird teachings1 its oracular suggestions8 ,so divine a creature1 freighted with hints for me1 and ,i not use her6 ,one moon gone by unnoticed66 ,suppose you attend to the hints1 to the suggestions1 which the moon makes for one month1--commonly in vain1--will they not be very different from anything in literature or religion or philosophy8#cec ,the scenery1 when it is truly seen1 reacts on the life of the seer4 ,how to live4 ,how to get the most life4 ,as if you were to teach the young hunter how to entrap his game4 ,how to extract its honey from the flower of the world4 ,that is my every-day business4 ,i am as busy as a bee about it4 ,i ramble over all fields on that errand1 and am never so happy as when ,i feel myself heavy with honey and wax4 ,i am like a bee searching the livelong day for the sweets of nature4 ,do ,i not impregnate and intermix the flowers1 produce rare and finer varieties by transferring my eyes from one to another8 ,i do as naturally and as joyfully1 with my own humming music1 seek honey all the day4 ,with what honeyed thought any experience yields me ,i take a bee line to my cell4 ,it is with flowers ,i would deal4 ,where is the flower1 there is the honey1--which is perchance the nectareous portion of the fruit1--there is to be the fruit1 and no doubt flowers are thus colored and painted to attract and guide the bee4 ,so by the dawning or radiance of beauty are we advertised where is the honey and the fruit of thought1 of discourse1 and of action4 ,we are first attracted by the beauty of the flower1 before we discover the honey which is a foretaste of the future fruit4 ,did not the young ,achilles 787 spend his youth learning how to hunt8 ,the art of spending a day4 ,if it is possible that we may be addressed1 it behooves us to be attentive4 ,if by watching all day and all night ,i may detect some trace of the ,ineffable1 then will it not be worth the while to watch8 ,watch and pray without ceasing1 but not necessarily in sadness4 ,be of good cheer4 ,those ,jews were too sad3 to another people a still deeper revelation may suggest only joy4 ,don't ,i know what gladness is8 ,is it but the reflex of sadness1 its back side8 ,in the ,hebrew gladness1 ,i hear but too distinctly still the sound of sadness retreating4 ,give me a gladness which has never given place to sadness4 ,i am convinced that men are not well employed1 that this is not the way to spend a day4 ,if by patience1 if by watching1 ,i can secure one new ray of light1 can feel myself elevated for an instant upon ,pisgah1 the world which was dead prose to me become living and divine1 shall ,i not watch ever8 shall ,i not be a watchman henceforth8 ,if by watching a whole year on the city's walls ,i may obtain a communication from heaven1 shall ,i not do well to shut up my shop and turn a watchman8 ,can a youth1 a man1 do more wisely than to go where his life is to be found8 ,as if ,i had suffered that to be rumor which may be verified4 ,we are surrounded by a rich and fertile mystery4 ,may we not probe it1 pry into it1 employ ourselves about it1 a little8 ,to devote your life to the discovery of the divinity in nature or to the eating of oysters1 would they not be attended with very different results8 ,i cannot easily buy a blank-book to write thoughts in2 they are all ruled for dollars and cents4#ced ,if the wine1 the water1 which will nourish me grows on the surface of the moon1 ,i will do the best ,i can to go to the moon for it4 ,the discoveries which we make abroad are special and particular2 those which we make at home are general and significant4 ,the further off1 the nearer the surface4 ,the nearer home1 the deeper4 ,go in search of the springs of life1 and you will get exercise enough4 ,think of a man's swinging dumb-bells for his health1 when those springs are bubbling in far-off pastures unsought by him6 ,the seeming necessity of swinging dumb-bells proves that he has lost his way4#cee ,to watch for1 describe1 all the divine features which ,i detect in ,nature4 ,my profession is to be always on the alert to find ,god in nature1 to know his lurking-places1 to attend all the oratorios1 the operas1 in nature4 ,the mind may perchance be persuaded to act1 to energize1 by the action and energy of the body4 ,any kind of liquid will fetch the pump4 ,we all have our states of fullness and of emptiness1 but we overflow at different points4 ,one overflows through the sensual outlets1 another through his heart1 another through his head1 and another perchance only through the higher part of his head1 or his poetic faculty4 ,it depends on where each is tight and open4 ,we can1 perchance1 then direct our nutriment to those organs we specially use4 ,how happens it that there are few men so well employed1--so much to their mind1--but that a little money or fame would buy them off from their present pursuits8 ,to ,conantum via fields1 ,hubbard's ,grove1 and grain-field1 to ,tupelo ,cliff and ,conantum and returning over peak same way4 #f ,p4 ,m4 ,i hear no larks sing at evening as in the spring1 nor robins2 only a few distressed notes from the robin4 ,in ,hubbard's grain-field beyond the brook1 now the sun is down4 ,the air is very still4 ,there is a fine sound of crickets1 not loud4 ,the woods and single trees are heavier masses in the landscape than in the spring4 ,night has more allies4 ,the heavy shadows of woods and trees are remarkable now4 ,the meadows are green with their second crop4 ,i hear only a tree-toad or song sparrow singing as in spring1 at long intervals4 ,the ,roman wormwood is beginning to yellow-green my shoes1--intermingled with the blue-curls over the sand in this grain-field4 ,perchance some poet likened this yellow dust to the ambrosia of the gods4 ,the birds are remarkably silent4 ,at the bridge perceive the bats are out4 ,and the yet silvery moon1 not quite full1 is reflected in the water4 ,the water is perfectly still1 and there is a red tinge from the evening sky in it4 ,the sky is singularly marked this evening4 ,there are bars or rays of nebulous light springing from the western horizon where the sun has disappeared1 and alternating with beautiful blue rays1 more blue by far than any other portion of the sky4 ,these continue to diverge till they have reached the middle1 and then converge to the eastern horizon1 making a symmetrical figure like the divisions of a muskmelon1 not very bright1 yet distinct1 though growing less and less bright toward the east4 ,it was a quite remarkable phenomenon encompassing the heavens1 as if you were to behold the divisions of a muskmelon thus alternately colored from within it4 ,a proper vision1 a colored mist4 ,the most beautiful thing in nature is the sun reflected from a tearful cloud4 ,these white and blue ribs embraced the earth4 ,the two outer blues much the brightest and matching one another4 ,you hear the hum of mosquitoes4 ,going up the road4 ,the sound of the crickets is now much more universal and loud4 ,now in the fields ,i see the white streak of the neottia in the twilight4 ,the whip-poor-wills sing far off4 ,i smell burnt land somewhere4 ,at ,tupelo ,cliff ,i hear the sound of singers on the river1 young men and women1--which is unusual here1--returning from their row4 ,man's voice1 thus uttered1 fits well the spaces4 ,it fills nature4 ,and1 after all1 the singing of men is something far grander than any natural sound4 ,it is wonderful that men do not oftener sing in the fields1 by day and night4 ,i bathe at the north side the ,cliff1 while the moon shines round the end of the rock4 ,the opposite ,cliff is reflected in the water4 ,then sit on the south side of the ,cliff in the woods4 ,one or two fireflies4 ,could it be a glow-worm8 ,i thought ,i saw one or two in the air4 ,that is all in this walk4 ,i hear a whip-poor-will uttering a cluck of suspicion in my rear4 ,he is suspicious and inquisitive4 ,the river stretches off southward from me4 ,i see the sheeny portions of its western shore interruptedly for a quarter of a mile1 where the moonlight is reflected from the pads1 a strong1 gleaming light while the water is lost in the obscurity4 ,i hear the sound from time to time of a leaping fish1 or a frog1 or a muskrat1 or turtle4 ,it is even warmer1 methinks1 than it was in ,august1 and it is perfectly clear1--the air4 ,i know not how it is that this universal crickets' creak should sound thus regularly intermittent1 as if for the most part they fell in with one another and creaked in time1 making a certain pulsing sound1 a sort of breathing or panting of all nature4 ,you sit twenty feet above the still river2 see the sheeny pads1 and the moon1 and some bare tree-tops in the distant horizon4 ,those bare tree-tops add greatly to the wildness4 ,lower down ,i see the moon in the water as bright as in the heavens2 only the water-bugs disturb its disk2 and now ,i catch a faint glassy glare from the whole river surface1 which before was simply dark4 ,this is set in a frame of double darkness on the east1 i4 e4 the reflected shore of woods and hills and the reality1 the shadow and the substance1 bipartite1 answering to each4 ,i see the northern lights over my shoulder1 to remind me of the ,esquimaux and that they are still my contemporaries on this globe1 that they too are taking their walks on another part of the planet1 in pursuit of seals1 perchance4#cef ,the stars are dimly reflected in the water4 ,the path of water-bugs in the moon's rays is like ripples of light4 ,it is only when you stand fronting the sun or moon that you see their light reflected in the water4 ,i hear no frogs these nights1--bullfrogs or others1--as in the spring4 ,it is not the season of sound4 ,at ,conantum end1 just under the wall4 ,from this point and at this height ,i do not perceive any bright or yellowish light on ,fair ,haven1 but an oily and glass-like smoothness on its southwestern bay1 through a very slight mistiness4 ,two or three pines appear to stand in the moonlit air on this side of the pond1 while the enlightened portion of the water is bounded by the heavy reflection of the wood on the east4 ,it was so soft and velvety a light as contained a thousand placid days sweetly put to rest in the bosom of the water4 ,so looked the ,north ,twin ,lake in the ,maine woods4 ,it reminds me of placid lakes in the mid-noon of ,indian summer days1 but yet more placid and civilized1 suggesting a higher cultivation1 as the wild ever does1 which ons of summer days have gone to make4 ,like a summer day seen far away4 ,all the effects of sunlight1 with a softer tone2 and all this stillness of the water and the air superadded1 and the witchery of the hour4 ,what gods are they that require so fair a vase of gleaming water to their prospect in the midst of the wild woods by night8 ,else why this beauty allotted to night1 a gem to sparkle in the zone of night8 ,they are strange gods now out2 methinks their names are not in any mythology4#ceg ,i can faintly trace its zigzag border of sheeny pads even here4 ,if such is then to be seen in remotest wildernesses1 does it not suggest its own nymphs and wood gods to enjoy it8 ,as when1 at middle of the placid noon in ,indian-summer days1 all the surface of a lake is as one cobweb gleaming in the sun1 which heaves gently to the passing zephyr4 ,there was the lake1 its glassy surface just distinguishable1 its sheeny shore of pads1 with a few pines bathed in light on its hither shore1 just as in the middle of a ,november day1 except that this was the chaster light of the moon1 the cooler temperature of the night1 and there were the deep shades of night that fenced it round and imbosomed4 ,it tells of a far-away1 long-passed civilization1 of an antiquity superior to time1 unappreciable by time4 ,is there such virtue in raking cranberries that those men's industry whom ,i now see on the meadow shall reprove my idleness8 ,can ,i not go over those same meadows after them1 and rake still more valuable fruits8 ,can ,i not rake with my mind8 ,can ,i not rake a thought1 perchance1 which shall be worth a bushel of cranberries8 ,a certain refinement and civilization in nature which increases with the wildness4 ,the civilization that consists with wildness1 the light that is in night4 ,a smile as in a dream on the face of the sleeping lake4 ,there is light enough to show what we see1 what night has to exhibit4 ,any more would obscure these objects4 ,i am not advertised of any deficiency of light4#ceh ,the actual is fair as a vision or a dream4 ,if ever we have attained to any nobleness1 even in our imagination and intentions1 that will surely ennoble the features of nature for us1 that will clothe them with beauty4 ,of course no jeweller ever dealt with a gem so fair and suggestive as this actual lake1 the scene1 it may be1 of so much noble and poetic life1 and not merely to adorn some monarch's crown4 ,it is remarkably still at this hour and season4 ,no sound of bird or beast for the most part4 ,this has none of the reputed noxious qualities of night4 ,on the peak4 ,the faint sounds of birds1 dreaming aloud in the night1 the fresh1 cool air1 and sound of the wind rushing over the rocks remind me of the tops of mountains4 ,that is1 all the earth is but the outside of the planet bordering on the hard-eyed sky4 ,equally withdrawn and near to heaven is this pasture as the summit of the ,white ,mountains4 ,all the earth's surface like a mountain-top1 for ,i see its relation to heaven as simply1 and am not imposed upon by a difference of a few feet in elevation4 ,in this faint1 hoary light1 all fields are like a mossy rock and remote from the cultivated plains of day4 ,all is equally savage1 equally solitary and cool-aired1 and the slight difference in elevation is felt to be unimportant4 ,it is all one with ,caucasus1 the slightest hill pasture4 ,the basswood had a singularly solid look and sharply defined1 as by a web or film1 as if its leaves covered it like scales4 ,scared up a whip-poor-will on the ground on the hill4 ,will not my townsmen consider me a benefactor if ,i conquer some realms from the night1 if ,i can show them that there is some beauty awake while they are asleep1 if ,i add to the domains of poetry1#cei if ,i report to the gazettes anything transpiring in our midst worthy of man's attention8 ,i will say nothing now to the disparagement of ,day1 for he is not here to defend himself4 ,the northern lights now1 as ,i descend from the ,conantum house1 have become a crescent of light crowned with short1 shooting flames1--or the shadows of flames1 for sometimes they are dark as well as white4 ,there is scarcely any dew even in the low lands4 ,now the fire in the north increases wonderfully1 not shooting up so much as creeping along1 like a fire on the mountains of the north seen afar in the night4 ,the ,hyperborean gods are burning brush1 and it spread1 and all the hoes in heaven couldn't stop it4 ,it spread from west to east over the crescent hill4 ,like a vast fiery worm it lay across the northern sky1 broken into many pieces2 and each piece1 with rainbow colors skirting it1 strove to advance itself toward the east1 worm-like1 on its own annular muscles4 ,it has spread into their choicest wood-lots4 ,now it shoots up like a single solitary watch-fire or burning bush1 or where it ran up a pine tree like powder1 and still it continues to gleam here and there like a fat stump in the burning1 and is reflected in the water4 ,and now ,i see the gods by great exertions have got it under1 and the stars have come out without fear1 in peace4 ,though no birds sing1 the crickets vibrate their shrill and stridulous cymbals1 especially on the alders of the causeway1 those minstrels especially engaged for ,night's quire4#cfj ,it takes some time to wear off the trivial impression which the day has made1 and thus the first hours of night are sometimes lost4 ,there were two hen-hawks soared and circled for our entertainment1 when we were in the woods on that ,boon ,plain the other day1 crossing each other's orbits from time to time1 alternating like the squirrels of the morning1 till1 alarmed by our imitation of a hawk's shrill cry1 they gradually inflated themselves1 made themselves more aerial1 and rose higher and higher into the heavens1 and were at length lost to sight2 yet all the while earnestly looking1 scanning the surface of the earth for a stray mouse or rabbit4#cfa ,sept4 #h4 ,no fog this morning4 ,shall ,i not have words as fresh as my thoughts8 ,shall ,i use any other man's word8 ,a genuine thought or feeling can find expression for itself1 if it have to invent hieroglyphics4 ,it has the universe for type-metal4 ,it is for want of original thought that one man's style is like another's4 99 99 99 99 99 ,certainly the voice of no bird or beast can be compared with that of man for true melody4 ,all other sounds seem to be hushed1 as if their possessors were attending1 when the voice of man is heard in melody4 ,the air gladly bears the burden4 ,it is infinitely significant4 ,man only sings in concert4 ,the bird's song is a mere interjectional shout of joy2 man's a glorious expression of the foundations of his joy4 ,do not the song of birds and the fireflies go with the grass8 ,while the grass is fresh1 the earth is in its vigor4 ,the greenness of the grass is the best symptom or evidence of the earth's youth or health4 ,perhaps it will be found that when the grass ceases to be fresh and green1 or after ,june1 the birds have ceased to sing1 and that the fireflies1 too1 no longer in myriads sparkle in the meadows4 ,perhaps a history of the year would be a history of the grass1 or of a leaf1 regarding the grass-blades as leaves1 for it is equally true that the leaves soon lose their freshness and soundness1 and become the prey of insects and of drought4 ,plants commonly soon cease to grow for the year1 unless they may have a fall growth1 which is a kind of second spring4 ,in the feelings of the man1 too1 the year is already past1 and he looks forward to the coming winter4 ,his occasional rejuvenescence and faith in the current time is like the aftermath1 a scanty crop4 ,the enterprise which he has not already undertaken cannot be undertaken this year4 ,the period of youth is past4 ,the year may be in its summer1 in its manhood1 but it is no longer in the flower of its age4 ,it is a season of withering1 of dust and heat1 a season of small fruits and trivial experiences4 ,summer thus answers to manhood4 ,but there is an aftermath in early autumn1 and some spring flowers bloom again1 followed by an ,indian summer of finer atmosphere and of a pensive beauty4 ,may my life be not destitute of its ,indian summer1 a season of fine and clear1 mild weather in which ,i may prolong my hunting before the winter comes1 when ,i may once more lie on the ground with faith1 as in spring1 and even with more serene confidence4 ,and then ,i will wrap the drapery of summer about me and lie down to pleasant dreams4 ,as one year passes into another through the medium of winter1 so does this our life pass into another through the medium of death4 ,de ,quincey and ,dickens have not moderation enough4 ,they never stutter2 they flow too readily4 ,the tree-primrose and the dwarf ditto and epilobium still4 ,locust is heard4 ,aster amplexicaulis1 beautiful blue1 purplish blue 7871 about twenty-four rayed4 ,utricularia vulgaris1 bladderwort4 ,dandelion and houstonia4 ,sept4 #i4 #b ,a4 ,m4--,the moon not quite full4 ,to ,conantum via road4 ,there is a low vapor in the meadows beyond the depot1 dense and white1 though scarcely higher than a man's head1 concealing the stems of the trees4 ,i see that the oaks1 which are so dark and distinctly outlined1 are illumined by the moon on the opposite side4 ,this as ,i go up the back road4 ,a few thin1 ineffectual clouds in the sky4 ,i come out thus into the moonlit night1 where men are not1 as if into a scenery anciently deserted by men4 ,the life of men is like a dream4 ,it is three thousand years since night has had possession4 ,go forth and hear the crickets chirp at midnight4 ,hear if their dynasty is not an ancient one and well founded4 ,i feel the antiquity of the night4 ,she surely repossesses herself of her realms1 as if her dynasty were uninterrupted1 or she had underlain the day4 ,no sounds but the steady creaking of crickets and the occasional crowing of cocks4 ,i go by the farmer's houses and barns1 standing there in the dim light under the trees1 as if they lay at an immense distance or under a veil4 ,the farmer and his oxen now all asleep4 ,not even a watch-dog awake4 ,the human slumbers4 ,there is less of man in the world4 ,the fog in the lowlands on the ,corner road is never still4 ,it now advances and envelops me as ,i stand to write these words1 then clears away1 with ever noiseless step4 ,it covers the meadows like a web4 ,i hear the clock strike three4 ,now at the clayey bank4 ,the light of ,orion's belt seems to show traces of the blue day through which it came to us4 ,the sky at least is lighter on that side than in the west1 even about the moon4 ,even by night the sky is blue and not black1 for we see through the veil of night into the distant atmosphere of day4 ,i see to the plains of the sun1 where the sunbeams are revelling4 ,the cricket's 787 song1 on the alders of the causeway1 not quite so loud at this hour as at evening4 ,the moon is getting low4 ,i hear a wagon cross one of the bridges leading into the town4 ,i see the moonlight at this hour on a different side of objects4 ,i smell the ripe apples many rods off beyond the bridge4 ,a sultry night2 a thin coat is enough4 ,on the first top of ,conantum4 ,i hear the farmer harnessing his horse and starting for the distant market1 but no man harnesses himself1 and starts for worthier enterprises4 ,one cock-crow tells the whole story of the farmer's life4 ,the moon is now sinking into clouds in the horizon4 ,i see the glow-worms deep in the grass by the little brookside in midst of ,conantum4 ,the moon shines dun and red4 ,a solitary whip-poor-will sings4 ,the clock strikes four4 ,a few dogs bark4 ,a few more wagons start for market1 their faint rattling heard in the distance4 ,i hear my owl without a name2 the murmur of the slow-approaching freight-train1 as far off1 perchance1 as ,waltham2 and one early bird4 ,the round1 red moon disappearing in the west4 ,i detect a whiteness in the east4 ,some dark1 massive clouds have come over from the west within the hour1 as if attracted by the approaching sun1 and have arranged themselves raywise about the eastern portal1 as if to bar his coming4 ,they have moved suddenly and almost unobservedly quite across the sky 7which before was clear7 from west to east4 ,no trumpet was heard which marshalled and advanced these dark masses of the west's forces thus rapidly against the coming day4 ,column after column the mighty west sent forth across the sky while men slept1 but all in vain4 ,the eastern horizon is now grown dun-colored1 showing where the advanced guard of the night are already skirmishing with the vanguard of the sun1 a lurid light tingeing the atmosphere there1 while a dark-columned cloud hangs imminent over the broad portal1 untouched by the glare4 ,some bird flies over1 making a noise like the barking of a puppy4#cfb ,it is yet so dark that ,i have dropped my pencil and cannot find it4 ,the sound of the cars is like that of a rushing wind4 ,they come on slowly4 ,i thought at first a morning wind was rising4 ,and now 7perchance at half-past four7 ,i hear the sound of some far-off factory-bell arousing the operatives to their early labors4 ,it sounds very sweet here4 ,it is very likely some factory which ,i have never seen1 in some valley which ,i have never visited2 yet now ,i hear this1 which is its only matin bell1 sweet and inspiring as if it summoned holy men and maids to worship and not factory girls and men to resume their trivial toil1 as if it were the summons of some religious or even poetic community4 ,my first impression is that it is the matin bell of some holy community who in a distant valley dwell1 a band of spiritual knights1--thus sounding far and wide1 sweet and sonorous1 in harmony with their own morning thoughts4 ,what else could ,i suppose fitting this earth and hour8 ,some man of high resolve1 devoted soul1 has touched the rope2 and by its peals how many men and maids are waked from peaceful slumbers to fragrant morning thoughts6 ,why should ,i fear to tell that it is ,knight's factory-bell at ,assabet8 ,a few melodious peals and all is still again4 ,the whip-poor-wills now begin to sing in earnest about half an hour before sunrise1 as if making haste to improve the short time that is left them4 ,as far as my observation goes1 they sing for several hours in the early part of the night1 are silent commonly at midnight1--though you may meet them then sitting on a rock or flitting silently about1--then sing again just before sunrise4 ,it grows more and more red in the east--a fine-grained red under the overhanging cloud--and lighter too1 and the threatening clouds are falling off to southward of the sun's passage1 shrunken and defeated1 leaving his path comparatively clear4 ,the increased light shows more distinctly the river and the fog4 #e o'clock4--,the light now reveals a thin film of vapor like a gossamer veil cast over the lower hills beneath the ,cliffs and stretching to the river1 thicker in the ravines1 thinnest on the even slopes4 ,the distant meadows towards the north beyond ,conant's ,grove1 full of fog1 appear like a vast lake out of which rise ,annursnack and ,ponkawtasset like rounded islands4 ,nawshawtuct is a low and wooded isle1 scarcely seen above the waves4 ,the heavens are now clear again4 ,the vapor1 which was confined to the river and meadows1 now rises and creeps up the sides of the hills4 ,i see it in transparent columns advancing down the valley of the river1 ghost-like1 from ,fair ,haven1 and investing some wooded or rocky promontory1 before free4 ,so ghosts are said to advance4 ,annursnack is exactly like some round1 steep1 distant hill on the opposite shore of a large lake 7and ,tabor on the other side71 with here and there some low ,brush ,island in middle of the waves 7the tops of some oaks or elms74 ,oh1 what a sail ,i could take1 if ,i had the right kind of bark1 over to ,annursnack6 for there she lies four miles from land as sailors say4 ,and all the farms and houses of ,concord are at bottom of that sea4 ,so ,i forget them1 and my thought sails triumphantly over them4 ,as ,i looked down where the village of ,concord lay buried in fog1 ,i thought of nothing but the surface of a lake1 a summer sea over which to sail2 no more than a voyager on the ,dead ,sea who had not read the ,testament would think of ,sodom and ,gomorrah1 once cities of the plain4 ,i only wished to get off to one of the low isles ,i saw in midst of the sea 7it may have been the top of ,holbrook's elm71 and spend the whole summer day there4 ,meanwhile the redness in the east had diminished and was less deep4 7,the fog over some meadows looked green47 ,i went down to ,tupelo ,cliff to bathe4 ,a great bittern1 which ,i had scared1 flew heavily across the stream4 ,the redness had risen at length above the dark cloud1 the sun approaching4 ,and next the redness became a sort of yellowish or fawn-colored light1 and the sun now set fire to the edges of the broken cloud which had hung over the horizon1 and they glowed like burning turf4 ,sept4 #aj4 ,as ,i watch the groves on the meadow opposite our house1 ,i see how differently they look at different hours of the day1 i4 e4 in different lights1 when the sun shines on them variously4 ,in the morning1 perchance1 they seem one blended mass of light green4 ,in the afternoon1 distinct trees appear1 separated by heavy shadows1 and in some places ,i can see quite through the grove4 #c ,p4 ,m4--,to the ,cliffs and the ,grape ,cliff beyond4 ,hardhack and meadow-sweet are now all dry4 ,i see the smoke of burning brush in the west horizon this dry and sultry afternoon1 and wish to look off from some hill4 ,it is a kind of work the farmer cannot do without discovery4 ,sometimes ,i smell these smokes several miles off1 and by the odor know it is not a burning building1 but withered leaves and the rubbish of the woods and swamp4 ,as ,i go through the woods1 ,i see that the ferns have turned brown and give the woods an autumnal look4 ,the boiling spring is almost completely dry4 ,nothing flows 7,i mean without the shed71 but there are many hornets and yellow wasps apparently buzzing and circling about in jealousy of one another1 either drinking the stagnant water1 which is the most accessible this dry parching day1 or it may be collecting something from the slime1--,i think the former4 ,as ,i go up ,fair ,haven ,hill1 ,i see some signs of the approaching fall of the white pine4 ,on some trees the old leaves are already somewhat reddish1 though not enough to give the trees a parti-colored look1 and they come off easily on being touched1--the old leaves on the lower part of the twigs4 ,some farmers are sowing their winter rye8 ,i see the fields smoothly rolled4 7,i hear the locust still47 ,i see others plowing steep rocky and bushy fields1 apparently for the same purpose4 ,how beautiful the sprout-land 7burnt plain7 seen from the ,cliff6 ,no more cheering and inspiring sight than a young wood springing up thus over a large tract1 when you look down on it1 the light green of the maples shaded off into the darker oaks2 and here and there a maple blushes quite red1 enlivening the scene yet more4 ,surely this earth is fit to be inhabited1 and many enterprises may be undertaken with hope where so many young plants are pushing up4 ,in the spring ,i burned over a hundred acres till the earth was sere and black1 and by midsummer this space was clad in a fresher and more luxuriant green than the surrounding even4 ,shall man then despair8 ,is he not a sprout-land too1 after never so many searings and witherings8#cfc ,if you witness growth and luxuriance1 it is all the same as if you grew luxuriantly4 ,i see three smokes in ,stow4 ,one sends up dark volumes of wreathed smoke1 as if from the mouth of ,erebus4 ,it is remarkable what effects so thin and subtile a substance as smoke produces1 even at a distance1--dark and heavy and powerful as rocks at a distance4 ,the woodbine is red on the rocks4 ,the poke is a very rich and striking plant4 ,some which stand under the ,cliffs quite dazzled me with their now purple stems gracefully drooping each way1 their rich1 somewhat yellowish1 purple-veined leaves1 their bright purple racemes1--peduncles1 and pedicels1 and calyx-like petals from which the birds have picked the berries 7these racemes1 with their petals now turned to purple1 are more brilliant than anything of the kind71--flower-buds1 flowers1 ripe berries and dark purple ones1 and calyx-like petals which have lost their fruit1 all on the same plant4 ,i love to see any redness in the vegetation of the temperate zone4 ,it is the richest color4 ,i love to press these berries between my fingers and see their rich purple wine staining my hand4 ,it asks a bright sun on it to make it show to best advantage1 and it must be seen at this season of the year4 ,it speaks to my blood4 ,every part of it is flower1 such is its superfluity of color1--a feast of color4 ,that is the richest flower which most abounds in color4 ,what need to taste the fruit1 to drink the wine1 to him who can thus taste and drink with his eyes8 ,its boughs1 gracefully drooping1 offering repasts to the birds4 ,it is cardinal in its rank1 as in its color4 ,nature here is full of blood and heat and luxuriance4 ,what a triumph it appears in ,nature to have produced and perfected such a plant1--as if this were enough for a summer4#cfd ,the downy seeds of the groundsel are taking their flight here4 ,the calyx has dismissed them and quite curled back1 having done its part4 ,lespedeza sessiliflora1 or reticulated lespedeza on the ,cliffs now out of bloom4 ,at the ,grape ,cliff1 the few bright-red leaves of the tupelo contrast with the polished green ones4 ,the tupelos with drooping branches4 ,the grape-vines overrunning and bending down the maples form little arching bowers over the meadow1 five or six feet in diameter1 like parasols held over the ladies of the harem1 in the ,east4 ,cuscuta ,americana1 or dodder1 in blossom still4 ,the ,desmodium paniculatum of ,de ,candolle and ,gray 7,hedysarum paniculatum of ,linnus and ,bigelow71 tick-trefoil1 with still one blossom1 by the path-side up from the meadow4 ,the rhomboidal joints of its loments adhere to my clothes4 ,one of an interesting family that thus disperse themselves4 ,the oak-ball of dirty drab now4#cfe ,sept4 #aa4 ,every artisan learns positively something by his trade4 ,each craft is familiar with a few simple1 well-known1 well-established facts1 not requiring any genius to discover1 but mere use and familiarity4 ,you may go by the man at his work in the street every day of your life1 and though he is there before you1 carrying into practice certain essential information1 you shall never be the wiser4 ,each trade is in fact a craft1 a cunning1 a covering an ability2 and its methods are the result of a long experience4 ,there sits a stone-mason1 splitting ,westford granite for fence-posts4 ,egypt has perchance taught ,new ,england something in this matter4 ,his hammer1 his chisels1 his wedges1 his shims or half-rounds1 his iron spoon1--,i suspect that these tools are hoary with age as with granite dust4 ,he learns as easily where the best granite comes from as he learns how to erect that screen to keep off the sun4 ,he knows that he can drill faster into a large stone than a small one1 because there is less jar and yielding4 ,he deals in stone as the carpenter in lumber4 ,in many of his operations only the materials are different4 ,his work is slow and expensive4 ,nature is here hard to be overcome4 ,he wears up one or two drills in splitting a single stone4 ,he must sharpen his tools oftener than the carpenter4 ,he fights with granite4 ,he knows the temper of the rocks4 ,he grows stony himself4 ,his tread is ponderous and steady like the fall of a rock4 ,and yet by patience and art he splits a stone as surely as the carpenter or woodcutter a log4 ,so much time and perseverance will accomplish4 ,one would say that mankind had much less moral than physical energy1 that any day you see men following the trade of splitting rocks1 who yet shrink from undertaking apparently less arduous moral labors1 the solving of moral problems4 ,see how surely he proceeds4 ,he does not hesitate to drill a dozen holes1 each one the labor of a day or two for a savage2 he carefully takes out the dust with his iron spoon2 he inserts his wedges1 one in each hole1 and protects the sides of the holes and gives resistance to his wedges by thin pieces of half-round iron 7or shims72 he marks the red line which he has drawn1 with his chisel1 carefully cutting it straight2 and then how carefully he drives each wedge in succession1 fearful lest he should not have a good split6 ,the habit of looking at men in the gross makes their lives have less of human interest for us4 ,but though there are crowds of laborers before us1 yet each one leads his little epic life each day4 ,there is the stone-mason1 who1 methought1 was simply a stony man that hammered stone from breakfast to dinner1 and dinner to supper1 and then went to his slumbers4 ,but he1 ,i find1 is even a man like myself1 for he feels the heat of the sun and has raised some boards on a frame to protect him4 ,and now1 at mid-forenoon1 ,i see his wife and child have come and brought him drink and meat for his lunch and to assuage the stoniness of his labor1 and sit to chat with him4 ,there are many rocks lying there for him to split from end to end1 and he will surely do it4 ,this only at the command of luxury1 since stone posts are preferred to wood4 ,but how many moral blocks are lying there in every man's yard1 which he surely will not split nor earnestly endeavor to split4 ,there lie the blocks which will surely get split1 but here lie the blocks which will surely not get split4 ,do we say it is too hard for human faculties8 ,but does not the mason dull a basketful of steel chisels in a day1 and yet1 by sharpening them again and tempering them aright1 succeed8 ,moral effort6 ,difficulty to be overcome666 ,why1 men work in stone1 and sharpen their drills when they go home to dinner6 ,why should ,canada1 wild and unsettled as it is1 impress one as an older country than the ,states1 except that her institutions are old4 ,all things seem to contend there with a certain rust of antiquity1 such as forms on old armor and iron guns1 the rust of conventions and formalities4 ,if the rust was not on the tinned roofs and spires1 it was on the inhabitants4#cff 99 99 99 99 99 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to ,hubbard's ,meadow ,grove4 ,the skunk-cabbage's checkered fruit 7spadix71 one three inches long2 all parts of the flower but the anthers left and enlarged4 ,bidens cernua1 or nodding burr-marigold1 like a small sunflower 7with rays7 in ,heywood ,brook1 i4 e4 beggar-tick4 ,bidens connata 7871 without rays1 in ,hubbard's ,meadow4 ,blue-eyed grass still4 ,drooping neottia very common4 ,i see some yellow butterflies and others occasionally and singly only4 ,the smilax berries are mostly turned dark4 ,i started a great bittern from the weeds at the swimming-place4 ,it is very hot and dry weather4 ,we have had no rain for a week1 and yet the pitcher-plants have water in them4 ,are they ever quite dry8 ,are they not replenished by the dews always1 and1 being shaded by the grass1 saved from evaporation8 ,what wells for the birds6 ,the white-red-purple-berried bush in ,hubbard's ,meadow1 whose berries were fairest a fortnight ago1 appears to be the ,viburnum nudum1 or withe-rod4 ,our cornel 7the common7 with berries blue one side1 whitish the other1 appears to be either the ,cornus sericea or ,c4 stolonifera of ,gray1 i4 e4 the silky1 or the red-osier cornel 7osier rouge71 though its leaves are neither silky nor downy nor rough4 ,this and the last four or five nights have been perhaps the most sultry in the year thus far4 ,sept4 #ab4 ,not till after #h ,a4 ,m4 does the fog clear off so much that ,i see the sun shining in patches on ,nawshawtuct4 ,this is the season of fogs4 ,like knight1 like esquire4 ,when ,benvenuto ,cellini was attacked by the constables in ,rome1 his boy ,cencio assisted him1 or at least stood by1 and afterward related his master's exploits2 8and as they asked him several times whether he had been afraid1 he answered that they should propose the question to me1 for he had been affected upon the occasion just in the same manner that ,i was40 ,benvenuto ,cellini relates in his memoirs that1 during his confinement in the castle of ,st4 ,angelo in ,rome1 he had a terrible dream or vision in which certain events were communicated to him which afterward came to pass1 and he adds3 8,from the very moment that ,i beheld the phenomenon1 there appeared 7strange to relate67 a resplendent light over my head1 which has displayed itself conspicuously to all that ,i have thought proper to show it to1 but those were very few4 ,this shining light is to be seen in the morning over my shadow till two o'clock in the afternoon1 and it appears to the greatest advantage when the grass is moist with dew3 it is likewise visible in the evening at sunset4 ,this phenomenon ,i took notice of when ,i was at ,paris1 because the air is exceedingly clear in that climate1 so that ,i could distinguish it there much plainer than in ,italy1 where mists are much more frequent2 but ,i can still see it even here1 and show it to others1 though not to the same advantage as in ,france40 ,this reminds me of the halo around my shadow which ,i notice from the causeway in the morning1--also by moonlight1--as if1 in the case of a man of an excitable imagination1 this were basis enough for his superstition4#cfg ,after ,i have spent the greater part of a night abroad in the moonlight1 ,i am obliged to sleep enough more the next night to make up for it1--,endymionis somnum dormire 7to sleep an ,endymion sleep71 as the ancients expressed it4#cfh ,and there is something gained still by thus turning the day into night4 ,endymion is said to have obtained of ,jupiter the privilege of sleeping as much as he would4 ,let no man be afraid of sleep1 if his weariness comes of obeying his ,genius4 ,he who has spent the night with the gods sleeps more innocently by day than the sluggard who has spent the day with the satyrs sleeps by night4 ,he who has travelled to fairyland in the night sleeps by day more innocently than he who is fatigued by the merely trivial labors of the day sleeps by night4 ,that kind of life which1 sleeping1 we dream that we live awake1 in our walks by night1 we1 waking1 live1 while our daily life appears as a dream4 99 99 99 99 99 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to the ,three ,friends' ,hill beyond ,flint's ,pond1 via railroad1 ,r4 ,w4 ,e4's wood-path south side ,walden1 ,george ,heywood's cleared lot1 and ,smith's orchard2 return via east of ,flint's ,pond1 via ,goose ,pond and my old home to railroad4 ,i go to ,flint's ,pond for the sake of the mountain view from the hill beyond1 looking over ,concord4 ,i have thought it the best1 especially in the winter1 which ,i can get in this neighborhood4 ,it is worth the while to see the mountains in the horizon once a day4 ,i have thus seen some earth which corresponds to my least earthly and trivial1 to my most heavenward-looking1 thoughts4 ,the earth seen through an azure1 an ethereal1 veil4 ,they are the natural temples1 elevated brows1 of the earth1 looking at which1 the thoughts of the beholder are naturally elevated and sublimed1--etherealized4 ,i wish to see the earth through the medium of much air or heaven1 for there is no paint like the air4 ,mountains thus seen are worthy of worship4 ,i go to ,flint's ,pond also to see a rippling lake and a reedy island in its midst1--,reed ,island4 ,a man should feed his senses with the best that the land affords4#cfi ,at the entrance to the ,deep ,cut1 ,i heard the telegraph-wire vibrating like an olian harp4 ,it reminded me suddenly1--reservedly1 with a beautiful paucity of communication1 even silently1 such was its effect on my thoughts1--it reminded me1 ,i say1 with a certain pathetic moderation1 of what finer and deeper stirrings ,i was susceptible1 which grandly set all argument and dispute aside1 a triumphant though transient exhibition of the truth4 ,it told me by the faintest imaginable strain1 it told me by the finest strain that a human ear can hear1 yet conclusively and past all refutation1 that there were higher1 infinitely higher1 planes of life which it behooved me never to forget4 ,as ,i was entering the ,deep ,cut1 the wind1 which was conveying a message to me from heaven1 dropped it on the wire of the telegraph which it vibrated as it passed4 ,i instantly sat down on a stone at the foot of the telegraph-pole1 and attended to the communication4 ,it merely said3 8,bear in mind1 ,child1 and never for an instant forget1 that there are higher planes1 infinitely higher planes1 of life than this thou art now travelling on4 ,know that the goal is distant1 and is upward1 and is worthy all your life's efforts to attain to40 ,and then it ceased1 and though ,i sat some minutes longer ,i heard nothing more4 ,there is every variety and degree of inspiration from mere fullness of life to the most rapt mood4 ,a human soul is played on even as this wire1 which now vibrates slowly and gently so that the passer can hardly hear it1 and anon the sound swells and vibrates with such intensity as if it would rend the wire1 as far as the elasticity and tension of the wire permits1 and now it dies away and is silent1 and though the breeze continues to sweep over it1 no strain comes from it1 and the traveller hearkens in vain4 ,it is no small gain to have this wire stretched through ,concord1 though there may be no office here4 ,thus ,i make my own use of the telegraph1 without consulting the directors1 like the sparrows1 which ,i perceive use it extensively for a perch4 ,shall ,i not go to this office to hear if there is any communication for me1 as steadily as to the post-office in the village8#cgj ,i can hardly believe that there is so great a difference between one year and another as my journal shows4 ,the #aath of this month last year1 the river was as high as it commonly is in the spring1 over the causeway on the ,corner road4 ,it is now quite low4 ,last year1 ,october #ith1 the huckleberries were fresh and abundant on ,conantum4 ,they are now already dried up4 ,we yearn to see the mountains daily1 as the ,israelites yearned for the promised land1 and we daily live the fate of ,moses1 who only looked into the promised land from ,pisgah before he died4 ,on ,monday1 the #aeth instant1 ,i am going to perambulate the bounds of the town4 ,as ,i am partial to across-lot routes1 this appears to be a very proper duty for me to perform1 for certainly no route can well be chosen which shall be more across-lot1 since the roads in no case run round the town but ray out from its centre1 and my course will lie across each one4 ,it is almost as if ,i had undertaken to walk round the town at the greatest distance from its centre and at the same time from the surrounding villages4 ,there is no public house near the line4 ,it is a sort of reconnoissance of its frontiers authorized by the central government of the town1 which will bring the surveyor in contact with whatever wild inhabitant or wilderness its territory embraces4 ,this appears to be a very ancient custom1 and ,i find that this word 8perambulation0 has exactly the same meaning that it has at present in ,johnson and ,walker's dictionary4 ,a hundred years ago they went round the towns of this ,state every three years4 ,and the old selectmen tell me that1 before the present split stones were set up in #ahbi1 the bounds were marked by a heap of stones1 and it was customary for each selectman to add a stone to the heap4 ,saw a pigeon-place on ,george ,heywood's cleared lot1--the six dead trees set up for the pigeons to alight on1 and the brush house close by to conceal the man4 ,i was rather startled to find such a thing going now in ,concord4 ,the pigeons on the trees looked like fabulous birds with their long tails and their pointed breasts4 ,i could hardly believe they were alive and not some wooden birds used for decoys1 they sat so still2 and1 even when they moved their necks1 ,i thought it was the effect of art4 ,as they were not catching then1 ,i approached and scared away a dozen birds who were perched on the trees1 and found that they were freshly baited there1 though the net was carried away1 perchance to some other bed4 ,the smooth sandy bed was covered with buckwheat1 wheat or rye1 and acorns4 ,sometimes they use corn1 shaved off the ear in its present state with a knife4 ,there were left the sticks with which they fastened the nets4 ,as ,i stood there1 ,i heard a rushing sound and1 looking up1 saw a flock of thirty or forty pigeons dashing toward the trees1 who suddenly whirled on seeing me and circled round and made a new dash toward the bed1 as if they would fain alight if ,i had not been there1 then steered off4 ,i crawled into the bough house and lay awhile looking through the leaves1 hoping to see them come again and feed1 but they did not while ,i stayed4 ,this net and bed belong to one ,harrington of ,weston1 as ,i hear4 ,several men still take pigeons in ,concord every year2 by a method1 methinks1 extremely old and which ,i seem to have seen pictured in some old book of fables or symbols1 and yet few in ,concord know exactly how it is done4 ,and yet it is all done for money and because the birds fetch a good price1 just as the farmers raise corn and potatoes4 ,i am always expecting that those engaged in such a pursuit will be somewhat less grovelling and mercenary than the regular trader or farmer1 but ,i fear that it is not so4 ,found a violet1 apparently ,viola cucullata1 or hood-leaved violet1 in bloom in ,baker's ,meadow beyond ,pine ,hill2 also the ,bidens cernua1 nodding burr-marigold1 with five petals1 in same place4 ,went through the old corn-field on the hillside beyond1 now grown up to birches and hickories1--woods where you feel the old corn-hills under your feet2 for these1 not being disturbed or levelled in getting the crop1 like potato-hills1 last an indefinite while2 and by some they are called ,indian corn-fields1 though ,i think erroneously1 not only from their position in rocky soil frequently1 but because the squaws probably1 with their clamshells or thin stones or wooden hoes1 did not hill their corn more than many now recommend4 ,what we call woodbine is the ,vitis hederacea1 or common creeper1 or ,american ivy4 ,when ,i got into the ,lincoln road1 ,i perceived a singular sweet scent in the air1 which ,i suspected arose from some plant now in a peculiar state owing to the season1 but though ,i smelled everything around1 ,i could not detect it1 but the more eagerly ,i smelled1 the further ,i seemed to be from finding it2 but when ,i gave up the search1 again it would be wafted to me4 ,it was one of the sweet scents which go to make the autumn air1 which fed my sense of smell rarely and dilated my nostrils4 ,i felt the better for it4 ,methinks that ,i possess the sense of smell in greater perfection than usual1 and have the habit of smelling of every plant ,i pluck4 ,how autumnal is the scent of ripe grapes now by the roadside6#cga ,from the pond-side hill ,i perceive that the forest leaves begin to look rather rusty or brown4 ,the pendulous1 drooping barberries are pretty well reddened4 ,i am glad when the berries look fair and plump4 ,i love to gaze at the low island in the pond1--at any island or inaccessible land4 ,the isle at which you look always seems fairer than the mainland on which you stand4 ,i had already bathed in ,walden as ,i passed1 but now ,i forgot that ,i had been wetted1 and wanted to embrace and mingle myself with the water of ,flint's ,pond this warm afternoon1 to get wet inwardly and deeply4 ,found on the shore of the pond that singular willow-like herb in blossom1 though its petals were gone4 ,it grows up two feet from a large woody horizontal root1 and droops over to the sand again1 meeting which1 it puts out a myriad rootlets from the side of its stem1 fastens itself1 and curves upward again to the air1 thus spanning or looping itself along4 ,the bark just above the ground thickens into a singular cellular or spongy substance1 which at length appears to crack nearer the earth1 giving that part of the plant a winged and somewhat four-sided appearance4 ,it appears to be the cellular tissue1 or what is commonly called the green bark1 and likewise invests the root to a great thickness1 somewhat like a fungus1 and is of a fawn-color4 ,the ,lythrum verticillatum1 or swamp loosestrife1 or grass poly1 but ,i think better named1 as in ,dewey1 swamp-willow-herb4 ,the prinos berries are pretty red4 ,any redness like cardinal-flowers1 or poke1 or the evening sky1 or cherona1 excites us as a red flag does cows and turkeys4 ,sept4 #ac4 ,railroad causeway1 before sunrise4 ,here is a morning after a warm1 clear1 moonlight night almost entirely without dew or fog4 ,it has been a little breezy through the night1 it is true2 but why so great a difference between this and other mornings of late8 ,i can walk in any direction in the fields without wetting my feet4 ,i see the same rays in the dun1 buff1 or fawn-colored sky now1 just twenty minutes before sunrise1 though they do not extend quite so far as at sundown the other night4 ,why these rays8 ,what is it divides the light of the sun8 ,is it thus divided by distant inequalities in the surface of the earth1 behind which the other parts are concealed1 and since the morning atmosphere is clearer they do not reach so far8 ,some small island clouds are the first to look red4 ,the cross-leaved polygala emits its fragrance as if at will4 ,you are quite sure you smelled it and are ravished with its sweet fragrance1 but now it has no smell4 ,you must not hold it too near1 but hold it on all sides and at all distances1 and there will perchance be wafted to you sooner or later a very sweet and penetrating fragrance4 ,what it is like you cannot surely tell1 for you do not enjoy it long enough nor in volume enough to compare it4 ,it is very likely that you will not discover any fragrance while you are rudely smelling at it2 you can only remember that you once perceived it4 ,both this and the caducous polygala are now somewhat faded4 ,now the sun is risen4 ,the sky is almost perfectly clear this morning2 not a cloud in the horizon4 ,the morning is not pensive like the evening1 but joyous and youthful1 and its blush is soon gone4 ,it is unfallen day4 ,the ,bedford sunrise bell rings sweetly and musically at this hour1 when there is no bustle in the village to drown it4 ,bedford deserves a vote of thanks from ,concord for it4 ,it is a great good at these still and sacred hours1 when towns can hear each other4 ,it would be nought at noon4 ,sept4 #ad4 ,a great change in the weather from sultry to cold1 from one thin coat to a thick coat or two thin ones4 #b ,p4 ,m4--,to ,cliffs4 ,the dry grass yields a crisped sound to my feet4 ,the white oak which appears to have made part of a hedge fence once1 now standing in ,hubbard's fence near the ,corner road1 where it stretches along horizontally1 is 7one of its arms1 for it has one running each way7 two and a half feet thick1 with a sprout growing perpendicularly out of it eighteen inches in diameter4 ,the corn-stalks standing in stacks1 in long rows along the edges of the corn-fields1 remind me of stacks of muskets4 ,illustration ,as soon as berries are gone1 grapes come4 ,the chalices of the ,rhexia ,virginica1 deer-grass or meadow-beauty1 are literally little reddish chalices now1 though many still have petals1--little cream pitchers4#cgb ,the caducous polygala in cool places is faded almost white4 ,i see the river at the foot of ,fair ,haven ,hill running up-stream before the strong cool wind1 which here strikes it from the north4 ,the cold wind makes me shudder after my bath1 before ,i get dressed4 ,polygonum aviculare--knot-grass1 goose-grass1 or door-grass--still in bloom4 ,sept4 #ae4 ,monday4 ,ice in the pail under the pump1 and quite a frost4 ,commenced perambulating the town bounds4 ,at #g4cj ,a4 ,m4 rode in company with ---- and ,mr4 ---- to the bound between ,acton and ,concord near ,paul ,dudley's4 ,mr4 ---- told a story of his wife walking in the fields somewhere1 and1 to keep the rain off1 throwing her gown over her head and holding it in her mouth1 and so being poisoned about her mouth from the skirts of her dress having come in contact with poisonous plants4 ,at ,dudley's1 which house is handsomely situated1 with five large elms in front1 we met the selectmen of ,acton1 ---- ---- and ---- ----4 ,here were five of us4 ,it appeared that we weighed1 -- ---- ,i think about #afj1 ---- #aee1 ---- about #adj1 ---- #acj1 myself #abg4 ---- described the wall about or at ,forest ,hills ,cemetery in ,roxbury as being made of stones upon which they were careful to preserve the moss1 so that it cannot be distinguished from a very old wall4 ,found one intermediate bound-stone near the powder-mill drying-house on the bank of the river4 ,the workmen there wore shoes without iron tacks4 ,he said that the kernel-house was the most dangerous1 the drying-house next1 the press-house next4 ,one of the powder-mill buildings in ,concord8 ,the potato vines and the beans which were still green are now blackened and flattened by the frost4 ,,end ,,of ,,volume ,,ii ,the ,riverside ,press ,h4 ,o4 ,,houghton ,,and ,,company ,,cambridge ,,massachusetts ,,footnotes #a ,a new book is begun here1 but the first date is that of ,may #ab1 #ahej1 on p4 #g 7p4 #h of the original74 ,the first entries may or may not belong to this year4 #b ,see ,excursions1 p4 #bbh2 ,riv4 #bhj4 #c ,walden1 p4 #bg2 ,riv4 #da1 #db4 #d ,see ,walden1 p4 #ahe2 ,riv4 #bfb4 #e ,walden1 p4 #bda2 ,riv4 #cdj4 #f ,cape ,cod1 p4 #aba2 ,riv4 #adc1 #add4 #g ,walden1 p4 #abf2 ,riv4 #agh4 #h ,walden1 p4 #ade2 ,riv4 #bjf4 #i ,see ,journal1 vol4 i1 p4 #dge4 #aj ,channing1 p4 #bih4 #aa ,see ,journal1 vol4 v1 ,june #aj1 #ahec4 #ab ,excursions1 p4 #bcd2 ,riv4 #bhg4 #ac ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bgf4 #ad ,walden1 p4 #bhd2 ,riv4 #cii4 #ae ,this in regard to ,breed and ,newell is written in a fine hand at the top of the page1 and probably belonged with something on the part torn out4 #af ,see p4 #dj4 #ag ,where ,captain ,samuel ,wadsworth fell in a battle with the ,indians1 ,april #ah1 #afgf4 #ah ,walden1 p4 #acj2 ,riv4 #ahd1 #ahe4 #ai ,excursions1 p4 #bbf2 ,riv4 #bgg4 #bj ,i find that they are last year's4 ,the white pine has not blossomed4 #ba ,walden1 p4 #cff2 ,riv4 #eac4 #bb ,excursions1 pp4 #bdd1 #bde2 ,riv4 #cjj4 #bc ,walden1 pp4 #bbd1 #bbe2 ,riv4 #caf4 #bd ,cape ,cod1 p4 #ed2 ,riv4 #fb4 #be ,vide ,kirby and ,spence1 vol4 i4 #bf ,walden1 p4 #bdb2 ,riv4 #cda4 #bg ,excursions1 p4 #bcd2 ,riv4 #bhg4 #bh ,walden1 p4 #baf2 ,riv4 #cje4 #bi ,walden1 p4 #aij2 ,riv4 #bfh4 #cj ,excursions1 pp4 #cbf-cbh2 ,riv4 #dja-djc4 #ca ,in ,july1 #ahej1 ,thoreau went to ,fire ,island with other friends of ,margaret ,fuller to search for her remains4 ,see ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ajg1 #ajh2 ,riv4 #abf1 #abg4 ,see also next page4 #cb ,part of draft of a letter to ,h4 ,g4 ,o4 ,blake1 dated ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 ,other parts follow4 ,familiar ,letters4 #cc ,see ,cape ,cod1 p4 #ajh2 ,riv4 #abg4 ,see also p4 #hj of this volume4 #cd ,familiar ,letters1 ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 #ce ,cape ,cod1 p4 #aee2 ,riv4 #ahe4 #cf ,cape ,cod1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bga4 #cg ,familiar ,letters1 ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 #ch ,blake was at the time living in ,milton1 ,mass4 #ci ,familiar ,letters1 ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 #dj ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #dgh2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bhb1 #bhc4 #da ,familiar ,letters1 ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 #db ,channing1 p4 #gh4 #dc ,familiar ,letters1 ,aug4 #i1 #ahej4 #dd ,channing1 pp4 #cf1 #cg4 #de ,see pp4 #gh1 #gi4 #df ,an example of ,thoreau's practice work1--the same story told in two forms4 ,for its final form see ,cape ,cod1 p4 #hh2 ,riv4 #ajc1 #ajd4 #dg ,excursions1 p4 #bab2 ,riv4 #bfj4 #dh ,excursions1 pp4 #bab1 #bac2 ,riv4 #bfj1 #bfa4 #di ,excursions1 p4 #bae2 ,riv4 #bfc4 #ej ,excursions1 pp4 #bad-baf2 ,riv4 #bfc1 #bfd4 #ea ,walden1 pp4 #bji1 #baj2 ,riv4 #bif4 #eb ,walden1 p4 #bae2 ,riv4 #cjc4 #ec ,walden1 pp4 #ace1 #acf2 ,riv4 #aib4 #ed ,wild holly8 #ee ,charles ,dunbar was ,thoreau's uncle4 ,see ,sanborn1 pp4 #ba-bc1 #ib1 #ic2 also ,journal1 vol4 iv1 ,jan4 #a1 #ahec1 and vol4 viii1 ,apr4 #c1 #ahef4 #ef ,channing1 p4 #bic 7as prose74 #eg ,channing1 pp4 #gf1 #gg2 ,sanborn1 pp4 #beh1 #bei4 #eh ,see ,walden1 p4 #cae2 ,riv4 #dda4 #ei ,walden1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #cch4 #fj ,walden1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #cch4 #fa ,three ,years in ,california1 #ahej4 #fb ,excursions1 p4 #c2 ,riv4 #c4 #fc ,walden1 p4 #cfa2 ,riv4 #eje1 #ejf4 #fd ,walden1 p4 #cfb2 ,riv4 #ejg4 #fe ,excursions1 p4 #ajj2 ,riv4 #abd4 #ff ,excursions1 p4 #ae2 ,riv4 #ah4 #fg ,channing1 pp4 #gj1 #ga2 ,sanborn1 pp4 #bei1 #bfj4 #fh ,see pp4 #di-ea4 #fi ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ajg1 #ajh2 ,riv4 #abf1 #abg4 ,see also pp4 #di-ea of this volume4 #gj ,walden1 pp4 #cdf1 #cdg2 ,riv4 #dhd1 #dhe4 #ga ,walden1 pp4 #bj1 #ba2 ,riv4 #cb4 #gb ,walden1 p4 #bfe 7,riv4 #cgb1 #cgc71 where ,october is the month named4 #gc ,it reached its height in '#eb1 and has now fallen decidedly in the fall of '#ec4 #gd ,see ,excursions1 p4 #dh2 ,riv4 #ei4 #ge ,see pp4 #dii1 #ejj4 #gf ,walden1 p4 #beg2 ,riv4 #cfa1 #cfb4 #gg ,excursions1 p4 #ii2 ,riv4 #abc4 #gh ,excursions1 p4 #cji2 ,riv4 #cgi4 #gi ,excursions1 p4 #cae2 ,riv4 #chg4 #hj ,excursions1 p4 #bdf2 ,riv4 #cjb4 #ha ,excursions1 p4 #bdg2 ,riv4 #cjc4 #hb ,excursions1 p4 #bdg2 ,riv4 #cjc4 #hc ,excursions1 p4 #bab2 ,riv4 #bei1 #bfj4 #hd ,excursions1 p4 #bca2 ,riv4 #bhc4 #he ,excursions1 p4 #bag2 ,riv4 #bff4 #hf ,excursions1 p4 #bag2 ,riv4 #bfe1 #bff4 #hg ,excursions1 p4 #cba2 ,riv4 #cid1 #cie4 #hh ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dhj1 #dha2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bhe1 #bhf4 #hi ,excursions1 p4 #ia2 ,riv4 #aac4 #ij ,excursions1 p4 #cjd2 ,riv4 #cgc4 #ia ,excursions1 p4 #bce2 ,riv4 #bhg1 #bhh4 #ib ,see p4 #afa4 #ic ,excursions1 p4 #bai2 ,riv4 #bfh4 #id ,excursions1 p4 #cai2 ,riv4 #cib4 #ie ,ibid4 #if ,excursions1 p4 #cai2 ,riv4 #cib4 #ig ,excursions1 p4 #baa2 ,riv4 #beh1 #bei4 #ih ,maine ,woods1 p4 #aec2 ,riv4 #ahg4 #ii ,ibid4 #ajj ,ibid4 #aja ,see ,journal1 vol4 iii1 pp4 #adi1 #aej1 #bda-bdd4 #ajb ,panicled andromeda4 #ajc ,evidently cocoons of the ,promethea moth4 #ajd ,excursions1 p4 #cbj2 ,riv4 #cic4 #aje ,excursions1 pp4 #cai1 #cbj2 ,riv4 #cib-cid4 #ajf ,see ,journal1 vol4 i1 p4 #cch4 #ajg ,five ,years of a ,hunter's ,life in the ,far ,interior of ,south ,africa1 #ahej4 #ajh ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bge1 #bgf4 #aji ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bgf4 #aaj ,thoreau supplies the word4 #aaa ,walden1 p4 #aa2 ,riv4 #ai4 #aab ,excursions1 p4 #bjf2 ,riv4 #bec4 #aac ,the brackets are ,thoreau's4 #aad ,excursions1 p4 #bje2 ,riv4 #bea4 #aae ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dfj1 #dfa2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bfj4 #aaf ,excursions1 p4 #bbj2 ,riv4 #bfi1 #bgj4 #aag ,the bracketed words are ,thoreau's4 #aah ,excursions1 p4 #bca2 ,riv4 #bhc1 #bhd4 #aai ,excursions1 p4 #bcb2 ,riv4 #bhd4 #abj ,excursions1 pp4 #bcb1 #bcc2 ,riv4 #bhe4 #aba ,the fresh ruins of ,nauvoo1 the bright brick towns4 ,davenport8 #abb ,excursions1 pp4 #bbc1 #bbd2 ,riv4 #bgd4 #abc ,arnold ,guyot1 ,the ,earth and ,man4 ,translated by ,c4 ,c4 ,felton4 #abd ,my own4 #abe ,guyot1 op4 cit4 #abf ,guyot1 op4 cit4 #abg ,excursions1 p4 #bci2 ,riv4 #bic4 #abh ,excursions1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #bid4 #abi ,excursions1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #bid4 #acj ,excursions1 p4 #bda2 ,riv4 #bie4 #aca ,excursions1 pp4 #bbd1 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bge4 #acb ,excursions1 p4 #bda2 ,riv4 #bif4 #acc ,excursions1 p4 #bcb2 ,riv4 #bhd1 #bhe4 #acd ,excursions1 p4 #bbc2 ,riv4 #bgc4 #ace ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bge4 #acf ,see ,excursions1 p4 #cai2 ,riv4 #cib4 #acg ,see p4 #cjj4 #ach ,w4 ,e4 ,channing1 8,walden ,spring40 #aci ,excursions1 p4 #baf2 ,riv4 #bfd1 #bfe4 #adj ,excursions1 p4 #bch2 ,riv4 #bia4 #ada ,excursions1 p4 #bch2 ,riv4 #bib4 #adb ,see p4 #ajg4 #adc ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bge1 #bgf4 #add ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dgf-dgh2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bhj-bhb4 #ade ,cape ,cod and ,miscellanies1 p4 #dfb2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bfb4 #adf ,excursions1 p4 #bch2 ,riv4 #bib4 #adg ,excursions1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #bid4 #adh ,excursions1 p4 #bdd2 ,riv4 #bii4 #adi ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bgf4 #aej ,excursions1 p4 #bdj2 ,riv4 #bie4 #aea ,excursions1 p4 #bbe2 ,riv4 #bgf4 #aeb ,in ,the ,csars4 #aec ,supplied by ,thoreau4 #aed ,blackwell1 ,court of ,augustus2 quoted by ,de ,quincey in a note4 #aee ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #cij2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #agd4 #aef ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #cib-cid2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #agg-agi4 #aeg ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #cid1 #cie2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #agi1 #ahj4 #aeh ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #cig2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #ahc4 #aei ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #cig-cii2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #ahc-ahe4 #afj ,the brackets are ,thoreau's4 #afa ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #cif2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #aha4 #afb ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #cii1 #djj2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #ahe1 #ahf4 #afc ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #cic2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #agg1 #agh4 #afd ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #dgc2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bge1 #bgf4 #afe ,walden1 p4#gb2 ,riv4 #ajc4 #aff ,excursions1 pp4 #bce1 #bcf2 ,riv4 #bhh1 #bhi4 #afg ,excursions1 p4 #cbh2 ,riv4 #djc4 #afh ,supplied by ,thoreau4 #afi ,the bracketed portions in both cases are ,thoreau's4 #agj ,toads4 ,see p4 #bej4 #aga ,excursions1 p4 #bcf2 ,riv4 #bhi4 #agb ,excursions1 pp4 #bcf1 #bcg2 ,riv4 #bhi-bia4 #agc ,excursions1 p4 #bcg2 ,riv4 #bij4 #agd ,excursions1 p4 #cja2 ,riv4 #cgj4 #age ,excursions1 p4 #caf2 ,riv4 #chh4 #agf ,excursions1 p4 #bid2 ,riv4 #cfa4 #agg ,excursions1 p4 #cja2 ,riv4 #cfi4 #agh ,excursions1 p4 #caf2 ,riv4 #chh1 #chi4 #agi ,vide p4 #bhf4 #ahj ,ivy8 #aha ,golden senecio4 #ahb ,corydalis4 #ahc ,doubtless ,blue ,hill is meant1 not the lower eminence known as ,milton ,hill4 #ahd ,toads4 ,see p4 #bej4 #ahe ,supplied by ,thoreau4 #ahf ,bigelow got this from ,kalm4 ,vide extract from ,kalm4 #ahg ,parietes1 sepes1 sepimenta alternatives for septa4 #ahh ,excursions1 p4 #caf2 ,riv4 #chh1 #chi4 #ahi ,walden1 p4 #cjh2 ,riv4 #dcb4 #aij ,excursions1 p4 #caf2 ,riv4 #chi4 #aia ,bigelow1 ,american ,medical ,botany1 vol4 i4 #aib ,bigelow1 ,american ,medical ,botany1 vol4 i4 #aic ,excursions1 p4 #bba2 ,riv4 #bga4 #aid ,excursions1 p4 #cbh2 ,riv4 #djc4 #aie ,the first mention in the ,journal of a bird the identity of which ,thoreau seems never to have made out4 ,see ,journal1 vol4 i1 ,introduction1 p4 xlvi4 #aif ,that is1 ,darwin4 #aig ,walden1 p4 #ad2 ,riv4 #bb4 #aih ,the brackets are ,thoreau's4 #aii ,the word is supplied by ,thoreau4 #bjj ,channing1 p4 #gh4 #bja ,toad4 #bjb ,see ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dga1 #dgb2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bgd4 #bjc ,otherwise spelled 8cucuyo10 a ,west ,indian firefly4 #bjd ,toads4 ,see p4 #bej4 #bje ,how quietly we entertain the possibility of joy1 of recreation1 of light into sic our souls6 ,we should be more excited at the pulling of a tooth4 #bjf ,excursions1 p4 #aaa2 ,riv4 #acg4 #bjg ,no water is used in producing the sound4 ,thoreau had been misinformed by one of his neighbors4 ,see ,excursions1 p4 #aaa2 ,riv4 #acg4 #bjh ,toad8 #bji ,excursions1 p4 #cbf2 ,riv4 #dja4 #baj ,rough ,notes of ,journeys in the ,pampas and ,andes4 #baa ,supplied by ,thoreau4 #bab ,bigelow1 in his ,florula ,bostoniensis1 says of this plant1 now generally called the evening-primrose1 8,in the country it is vulgarly known by the name of ,scabish1 a corruption probably of ,scabious1 from which however it is a very different plant40 ,josselyn gives a quaint description of it under the name of ,lysimachus or ,loose-strife in his ,two ,voyages1 and says it 8is taken by the ,english for ,scabious40 #bac ,i have since heard some complete strains4 #bad ,pale lobelia4 #bae ,evidently not ,aster miser1 or1 as it is now called ,a4 lateriflorus1 which flowers much later in the season4 #baf ,see p4 #beb4 #bag ,night of ,june #ab4 ,see p4 #bdi4 #bah ,see pp4 #bac1 #bad4 #bai ,channing1 p4 #he4 #bbj ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dgc-dgf2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bgf-bgi4 #bba ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 pp4 #dge1 #dgf2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bgi4 #bbb ,rue i4 e4 meadow-rue4 #bbc ,see ,journal1 vol4 i1 p4 #ei4 #bbd ,thoreau's name for the field sparrow 7,spizella pusilla1 or1 as it was called by ,nuttall1 ,fringilla juncorum74 ,he had the name from his old friend ,minott4 #bbe ,excursions1 p4 #cbg2 ,riv4 #djb4 #bbf ,excursions1 p4 #cbg2 ,riv4 #djb4 #bbg ,see p4 #aee4 #bbh ,see ,walden1 pp4 #adj1 #ada2 ,riv4 #aii4 #bbi ,excursions1 p4 #cbg2 ,riv4 #djc4 #bcj ,see ,excursions1 p4 #cbf2 ,riv4 #dja4 #bca ,vide p4 #ccg4 #bcb ,the field sparrow4 ,see ,journal1 vol4 i1 p4 #beb1 note4 #bcc ,excursions1 p4 #cbc2 ,riv4 #cih4 #bcd ,channing1 p4 #hd4 #bce ,this is queried in pencil4 ,see p4 #bgh4 #bcf ,excursions1 p4 #bid2 ,riv4 #cfa4 #bcg ,his birthday was ,july #ab4 #bch ,walden1 pp4 #ceh1 #cei2 ,riv4 #ejb4 #bci ,walden1 p4 #gg2 ,riv4 #aaj1 #aaa4 #bdj ,so ,channing 7p4 #abh71 who calls it 8one of ,thoreau's names for some bird1 so named by the farmers40 ,the word as written is far from clear4 #bda ,vide p4 #cgc4 #bdb ,channing1 pp4 #abf-abh4 #bdc ,channing1 pp4 #abh1 #abi4 #bdd ,see ,hawthorne's story 8,the ,minister's ,black ,veil0 and footnote to the title1 ,twice-,told ,tales1 ,riverside ,edition1 p4 #eb4 #bde ,excursions1 p4 #cje2 ,riv4 #cge4 #bdf ,walden1 p4 #cee2 ,riv4 #dig4 #bdg ,harper's ,new ,monthly1 vol4 i1 p4 #fdh1 from ,chambers' ,edinburgh ,journal4 #bdh ,walden1 p4 #cee2 ,riv4 #dig4 #bdi ,excursions1 pp4 #ef1 #eg2 ,riv4 #fi1 #gj4 #bej ,excursions1 p4 #eg2 ,riv4 #ga4 #bea ,excursions1 p4 #hh2 ,riv4 #aji1 #aaj4 #beb ,excursions1 p4 #eg2 ,riv4 #ga4 #bec ,cape ,cod1 p4 #bfg2 ,riv4 #cbc4 #bed ,cape ,cod1 p4 #ad2 ,riv4 #ae4 #bee ,cape ,cod1 p4 #af2 ,riv4 #ag4 #bef ,cape ,cod1 p4 #ad2 ,riv4 #ae4 #beg ,see ,excursions1 p4 #gi2 ,riv4 #ih4 #beh ,cape ,cod1 p4 #ae2 ,riv4 #ae1 #af4 #bei ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ad1 #ae2 ,riv4 #ae4 #bfj ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ae1 #af2 ,riv4 #af4 #bfa ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #af1 #ag2 ,riv4 #ag1 #ah4 #bfb ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #af1 #ag2 ,riv4 #ag-ai4 #bfc ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #af1 #ah2 ,riv4 #ag1 #ai4 #bfd ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ag1 #ah2 ,riv4 #ah1 #ai4 #bfe ,here he tells the story in a different form1 showing an intention of using it later4 #bff ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ahb-ahd2 ,riv4 #bai-bba4 #bfg ,cape ,cod1 p4 #aeg2 ,riv4 #ahg1 #ahh4 #bfh ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #aji1 #aaj2 ,riv4 #abi4 #bfi ,see ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ig1 #ih2 ,riv4 #aae4 #bgj ,the nidus of the animal of ,natica1--cells with eggs in sand4 #bga ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #aji1 #aaj2 ,riv4 #abi4 #bgb ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #fh1 #fi2 ,riv4 #gi4 #bgc ,cape ,cod1 pp4 #ada1 #adb2 ,riv4 #afh1 #afi4 #bgd ,marston ,watson1 ,thoreau's friend and correspondent4 ,see ,familiar ,letters1 passim1 and especially note to letter of ,april #be1 #aheh4 #bge ,sir ,charles ,lyell1 ,a ,second ,visit to the ,united ,states4 #bgf ,excursions1 pp4 #cbi1 #ccj2 ,riv4 #dje4 ,see also pp4 #chc-che of this volume4 #bgg ,excursions1 p4 #cbg2 ,riv4 #djb4 #bgh ,excursions p4 #cag2 ,riv4 #chi4 #bgi ,excursions1 p4 #bie2 ,riv4 #cfb4 #bhj ,excursions1 pp4 #cbi1 #ccj2 ,riv4 #dje1 #djf4 ,see also p4 #cgd of this volume4 #bha ,excursions1 pp4 #cbi1 #ccj2 ,riv4 #dje1 #djf4 #bhb ,see ,excursions1 p4 #cbh2 ,riv4 #djc4 #bhc ,walden1 p4 #bch2 ,riv4 #ccf4 #bhd ,stark and his companions met the enemy in the hay-field4 #bhe ,some were drawn out of the swamp behind ,abiel ,wheeler's4 ,old lady ,potter tells me she cannot remember when they were not there4 #bhf ,see ,excursions1 pp4 #af1 #ag2 ,riv4 #bj4 #bhg ,excursions1 p4 #gi2 ,riv4 #ih4 #bhh ,excursions1 p4 #bg2 ,riv4 #cb1 #cc4 #bhi ,excursions1 pp4 #bi1 #cj2 ,riv4 #cf4 #bij ,excursions1 pp4 #hb1 #hc2 ,riv4 #ajb4 #bia ,excursions1 pp4 #gg-gi2 ,riv4 #ie-ih4 #bib ,excursions1 p4 #bg2 ,riv4 #cc4 #bic ,excursions1 p4 #gh2 ,riv4 #ig4 #bid ,excursions1 p4 #gi2 ,riv4 #ih4 #bie ,see ,excursions1 p4 #bij2 also ,journal1 vol4 iii1 p4 #aag4 #bif ,a farmer tells me that he knows when his horse has eaten it1 because it makes him slobber badly4 #big ,excursions1 p4 #hc2 ,riv4 #ajb1 #ajc4 #bih ,channing1 pp4 #he1 #hf4 #bii ,channing1 p4 #bad4 #cjj ,channing1 p4 #bad4 #cja ,channing1 p4 #gd4 #cjb ,channing1 p4 #bae4 #cjc ,channing1 p4 #gd4 #cjd ,channing1 p4 #bad4 #cje ,excursions1 p4 #c2 ,riv4 #c4 #cjf ,channing1 pp4 #bbi1 #bcj4 #cjg ,channing1 p4 #gg4 #cjh ,excursions1 p4 #hh2 ,riv4 #aji4 #cji ,channing1 pp4 #bhg1 #bhh4 #caj ,the word 8mulleins0 is queried in pencil4 #caa ,channing1 p4 #bae4 #cab ,yes4 #cac ,channing1 p4 #bae4 #cad ,channing1 p4 #baf4 #cae ,channing1 p4 #hg4 #caf ,excursions1 p4 #ha2 ,riv4 #ajj1 #aja4 #cag ,channing1 p4 #gj4 #cah ,channing1 p4 #gd4 #cai ,channing1 pp4 #gd1 #bae4 #cbj ,channing1 p4 #bdi4 #cba ,channing1 pp4 #ge1 #baf4 #cbb ,channing1 p4 #baf4 #cbc ,channing1 pp4 #cja1 #cjb4 #cbd ,channing1 p4 #cja4 #cbe ,channing1 p4 #bjc4 #cbf ,channing1 p4 #hf4 #cbg ,channing1 p4 #hg4 #cbh ,channing1 pp4 #fj1 #fa4 #cbi ,channing1 pp4 #fj1 #fa4 #ccj ,channing1 p4 #fj4 #cca ,channing1 p4 #bbj4 #ccb ,channing1 p4 #gh4 #ccc ,channing1 pp4 #agc-age4 #ccd ,channing1 p4 #afd4 #cce ,channing1 p4 #aii4 #ccf ,channing1 p4 #baf4 #ccg ,channing1 p4 #bbb4 #cch ,channing1 p4 #gf4 #cci ,ibid4 #cdj ,channing1 p4 #age4 #cda ,channing1 p4 #bbb4 #cdb ,channing1 p4 #fi4 #cdc ,vide last journal for bare foot track in ,corner road p4 #cbh of this volume4 #cdd ,channing1 p4 #gj4 #cde ,channing1 p4 #hf4 #cdf ,by ,second ,division ,brook4 #cdg ,channing1 p4 #gj4 #cdh ,vide hawks p4 #dhj4 #cdi ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #dfh2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bgj4 #cej ,see ,excursions1 p4 #cbg2 ,riv4 #djc4 #cea ,channing1 pp4 #bea1 #beb4 #ceb ,channing1 p4 #ij4 #cec ,excursions1 p4 #cbd2 ,riv4 #cih4 #ced ,cape ,cod1 and ,miscellanies1 p4 #def2 ,misc41 ,riv4 #bed1 #bee4 #cee ,excursions1 p4 #bji2 ,riv4 #beg4 #cef ,channing1 p4 #aae4 #ceg ,channing1 p4 #aaf4 #ceh ,channing1 p4 #aaf4 #cei ,excursions1 p4 #cbc2 ,riv4 #cig1 #cih4 #cfj ,channing1 pp4 #aaf1 #aag4 #cfa ,vide back p4 #deh4 #cfb ,it was a cuckoo4 #cfc ,channing1 p4 #bag4 #cfd ,excursions1 pp4 #bec-bee2 ,riv4 #caa1 #cab4 #cfe ,channing1 pp4 #baf1 #bag4 #cff ,excursions1 pp4 #hj1 #ha2 ,riv4 #ajj4 #cfg ,walden1 pp4 #bbd1 #bbe2 ,riv4 #caf1 #cag4 #cfh ,excursions1 p4 #cca2 ,riv4 #djg4 #cfi ,channing1 p4 #afc4 #cgj ,channing1 pp4 #aii1 #bjj4 #cga ,channing1 p4 #bag4 #cgb ,channing1 p4 #bbb4