ht. Beneath your feet you would, in autumn, behold a
verdant expanse in every variety of light and shade--a sea of leaves,
which, though sometimes in repose, more often moan and murmur, while the
giant arms they clothe rock to and fro in the gale, like the restless
waves of the troubled deep.

Here Nature displays all her sylvan grandeur; here she has scattered,
with a liberal hand, every charm that foliage can give to earth, and
many a lovely flower to scent the evening breeze. Descend, and in this
immense labyrinth you will find a tangled skein of forest paths, in
which it is never prudent to ramble alone; as will be seen by the
following adventure, which befell a young student who once went to Le
Morvan, anticipating infinite pleasure in spending a few weeks at the
house of an old uncle, a rich proprietor and owner of a large farm in
the forest of Erveau.

Residing from his infancy in the department of the Seine, he was quite
ignorant of a forest life; and the morning was yet early when he arose
from his bed and sallied forth to enjoy the fresh and fragrant air, of
which he had a foretaste at his open window, and take a ramble till the
hour of breakfast summoned him to his uncle's hospitable fare. All
without was life and sweetness; every bush had its little chorister; the
sun brilliant, but not as yet high in the heavens, threw his bright rays
in chequered light and shade between the trees, and made the pearly
tears of night, which hung quivering on each bending blade of grass,
sparkle like diamonds of the purest water. The student was in raptures,
and after a brief survey of the garden, he cast a longing eye upon the
woods which he so much wished to penetrate. On he walked, stopping
occasionally to muse on the enchanting scene around him, when all at
once he espied, on the lofty branches of an ash, a cuckoo! At the sight
of this splendid bird, our Parisian sportsman felt his heart pit-a-pat
and jump like a girl's in love; and without stopping any longer to
admire the marvels of Nature, he turned hastily back to his uncle's
abode, in search of a gun, with which to annihilate the luckless
harbinger of spring. He soon found one, ready loaded, in the hall; and,
with his heart full of hope and his legs full of precaution, he glided
mysteriously from one tree to another, endeavouring, by all possible
means, to conceal his approach from the wily cuckoo, which, perched on
high, was throwing into space his two dull notes,