tile, and for many other purposes, some of them very amusing. Wherever man takes possession of the gift of the Lord the forest and its music disappear. of Music To be sure, new music springs up in the fields to take its place, but the substitute is very mild. On account of its wild, weird, appealing strain, The found nowhere else in nature, the chorus of the Wildest forest thrills the heart. It is the only place on earth where tree music can be had in perfection, and no other is like it. Great organs have been built and numerous wind and string instruments made, all in an effort to reproduce the sigh and the sob, the wail and the roar of the forest, but they forever fall short of its grandeur and majesty. This incomparable tree harping can not be reproduced out of its element; it may be copied in parts so accurately that its tones can be recognized, but the real music of nature is when the waves of wind sweep among the boughs of trees. It is when crickets of the forest floor sing cheerily, when grasshoppers energetically play their fiddles, and locusts sow their notes on summer air. The leaf-rustle of the chewink on earth, the mournful wail of the pewee in the treetops, the impudent chuckle of the crow, and the battle-cry of the hawk, are parts of it. The scream of the night jar, the command of the whip-poor-will, and the serenade of the courting owl combine their notes. It is in the bleating of the fawn, the howl of the wolf, and the gutteral growl of the bear. Every voice of each living creature lifted in joy, curiosity, pain, or anger, with the leaf-rustle or cyclonic agony of the trees, the murmur of waters, the whisper of winds, and the song of humanity plays a part. All these unite to form one great and throbbing anthem, and if you once learn this wildest of music it will become so sacred to you that its call will be with you always, and when it is most insistent you will find peace only in the forest. |