And that idea , if I can seize the snow-wreathed figures that flit before my fancy , shall be the theme of the next page . How does Winter herald his approach ? By the shrieking blast of latter autumn , which is Nature 's cry of lamentation , as the destroyer rushes among the shivering groves where she has lingered , and scatters the sear leaves upon the tempest . When that cry is heard , the people wrap themselves in cloaks , and shake their heads disconsolately , saying , `` Winter is at hand ! '' Then the axe of the woodcutter echoes sharp and diligently in the forest ; then the coal-merchants rejoice , because each shriek of Nature in her agony adds something to the price of coal per ton ; then the peat-smoke spreads its aromatic fragrance through the atmosphere . A few days more ; and at eventide , the children look out of the window , and dimly perceive the flaunting of a snowy mantle in the air . It is stern Winter 's vesture . They crowd around the hearth , and cling to their mother 's gown , or press between their father 's knees , affrighted by the hollow roaring voice , that bellows a-down the wide flue of the chimney . It is the voice of Winter ; and when parents and children bear it , they shudder and exclaim , `` Winter is come ! Cold Winter has begun his reign already ! '' Now , throughout New England , each hearth becomes an altar , sending up the smoke of a continued sacrifice to the immitigable deity who tyrannizes over forest , country side , and town . Wrapped in his white mantle , his staff a huge icicle , his beard and hair a wind-tossed snow-drift , he travels over the land , in the midst of the northern blast ; and woe to the homeless wanderer whom he finds upon his path ! There he lies stark and stiff , a human shape of ice , on the spot where Winter overtook him . On strides the tyrant over the rushing rivers and broad lakes , which turn to rock beneath his footsteps . His dreary empire is established ; all around stretches the desolation of the Pole . Yet not ungrateful be his New England children , -- for Winter is our sire , though a stern and rough one , -- not ungrateful even for the severities , which have nourished our unyielding strength of character . And let us thank him , too , for the sleigh-rides , cheered by the music of merry bells ; for the crackling and rustling hearth , when the ruddy firelight gleams on hardy Manhood and the blooming cheek of Woman ; for all the home enjoyments , and the kindred virtues , which flourish in a frozen soil . Not that we grieve , when , after some seven months of storm and bitter frost , Spring , in the guise of a flower-crowned virgin , is seen driving away the hoary despot , pelting him with violets by the handful , and strewing green grass on the path behind him . Often , ere he will give up his empire , old Winter rushes fiercely back , and hurls a snow-drift at the shrinking form of Spring ; yet , step by step , he is compelled to retreat northward , and spends the summer months within the Arctic circle . Such fantasies , intermixed among graver toils of mind , have made the winter 's day pass pleasantly .
Meanwhile , the XXXXX has raged without abatement , and now , as the brief afternoon declines , is tossing denser volumes to and fro about the atmosphere .
Arctic cloaks coal-merchants days eventide flue peat-smoke sire storm vesture