ly　and　flushing　the　snow　with　delicate5　pinks。　The　dining　room　window　had　been　transformed　into　a　lovely　Japanese　print。　The　little　plum…tree　outside；　with　the　faintly　flushed　snow　lining　its　boughs　and　artfully　disposed　along　its　trunk；　stood　in　full　sunlight。　An　hour　or　two　later　everything　was　a　cold　glitter　of　white　and　blue。　The　world　had　pletely　changed　again。　The　little　Japanese　prints　had　all　vanished。　I　looked　out　of　my　study　window；　over　the　garden；　the　meadow；　to　the　low　hills　beyond；　and　the　ground　was　one　long　glare；　the　sky　was　steely；　and　all　the　trees　so　many　black　and　sinister　shapes。　There　was　indeed　something　curiously　sinister　about　the　whole　prospect。　It　was　as　if　our　kindly　country…side；　close　to　the　very　heart　of　England；　had　been　turned　into　a　cruel　steppe。　At　any　moment；　it　seemed；　a　body　of　horsemen　might　be　seen　breaking　out　from　the　black　copse；　so　many　instruments　of　tyranny　might　be　heard　and　some　distant　patch　of　snow　be　reddened。　It　was　that　kind　of　landscape。

Now　it　has　changed　again。　The　glare　has　gone　and　no　touch　of　the　sinister　remains。　But　the　snow　is　falling　heavily；　in　great　soft　flakes；　so　that　you　can　hardly　see　across　the　shallow　valley；　and　the　roofs　are　thick　and　the　trees　all　bending；　and　the　weathercock　of　the　village　church；　still　to　be　seen　through　the　grey　loaded　air；　has　bee　some　creature　out　of　Hans　Andersen。　From　my　study；　which　is　part　from　the　house　and　faces　it；　I　can　see　the　children　flattening　their　noses　agains