He superintended the laying-out of paths, the building of roads and dams; he cultivated the acquaintance of trees and wild flowers, protected the birds, and evinced a kindly fellowship for the frogs. To many of those who have read Willis's work, no part of it seems more satisfactory than the chatty, personal chronicle of nature happenings, the unforced record of his surroundings, as they appeared in the old Home Jotirual. It is difficult to estimate our indebtedness to him for his

394 The Hudson River

example of appreciation in a field where most of his countrymen were stolidly tmappreciative. Bryant went into the woods with uncovered head and found them cathedrals. His trees were all gothic columns, that ranged themselves in dim, churchly aisles. Autumn was a holy festival, and a pool in the woods was a sort of stoup of holy water. Drake went into the woods to find a background for a fairv tale. But Willis bought a glen with a brook in it, built his dams and bridges, delighted to note that his chestnut fence-posts sprouted, scraped acquaintance with feathered or furry neighbours, and loved his hemlock trees as though they had been human friends. To a generation whose eyes had not been educated to see, and who generally understood that the country was designed by Providence as the place in which to raise corn and potatoes, his letters were a revelation. They were the better for being reportorial rather than philosophical. If, from some dust}^ shelf corner, you take down a copy of Out-Doors at Idlcwild, blow the dust of years from it, and settle yourself to read, you may presently say, " Burroughs would have done this better, or Bradford Torrey that." Very possibly. Please to recollect that Willis did it first. To-day every man -- lawyer, physician, clergyman, hack, storekeeper, or clerk -- finds his way at least once a year into the country, where he follows his patron prophet, who has pointed out what he should enjoy and appreciate.