themselves and then fly away at will. Probably they take the house for a respectable sort of cave, where they mean to shelter themselves from the frosty air a while; but as they never come until toward the last of the season, it looks very much as if they wished to say good-bye, and inquire if we have any messages for our friends in Carolina.
A handsome Antiopa butterfly, brown and buflf, also came fluttering about a window of the second story several times in the course of the morning, coming and going, as if anxious to find its way in. At last we opened the window, but it was frightened by the noise, and fluttered away. These large and handsome butterflies are longer-lived than many of their companions; they outlive the winter, by clinging to the rafters of barns and out-buildings, or concealing themselves in sheltered crevices of walls, where they remain in a torpid state until the mild weather in spring, when they come out again, and may occasionally be seen flitting about among the leafless and flowerless shrubs of March and April.
Tuesday, 10th.—Mild. Showery morning, bright afternoon. Pleasant walk on the lake-road. The pines are clear green again, having cast their rusty leaves. A few cones also are dropping, but many hang on the trees through the winter.
A few years since, those who followed this road, along the lake shore, frequently met an old man, coming and going in this direction, whose venerable appearance would probably have attracted a stranger's attention. His head was white with the honors of fourscore and upward, yet his tall, slender figure was erect and active, showing few marks of age; and his face was remarkable for a kindly, benevolent expression, a bright, healthy eye, and
