Then a few ventured in; in a moment more, the air at the mouth of
the chimney was black with the stream of descending swallows. When
the passage began to get crowded, the circle lifted and the rest of
the birds continued their flight, giving those inside time to
dispose of themselves. Then the influx began again, and was kept up
till the crowd became too great, when it cleared as before. Thus by
installments, or in layers, the swallows were packed into the
chimney until the last one was stowed away. Passing by the place a
few days afterward, I saw a board reaching from the roof of the
building to the top of the chimney, and imagined some curious
person or some predaceous boy had been up to take a peep inside,
and see how so many swallows could dispose of themselves in such a
space. It would have been an interesting spectacle to see them
emerge from the chimney in the morning.
IV APRIL
If we represent the winter of our northern climate by a rugged
snow-clad mountain, and summer by a broad fertile plain, then the
intermediate belt, the hilly and breezy uplands, will stand for
spring, with March reaching well up into the region of the snows,
and April lapping well down upon the greening fields and unloosened
currents, not beyond the limits of winter's sallying storms, but
well within the vernal zone,--within the reach of the warm breath
and subtle, quickening influences of the plain below. At its best,
April is the tenderest of tender salads made crisp by ice or snow
water.
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