A WINTER NIGHT: OLD TRICKS: PHEASANT-STALKING: MATCHLOCK _versus_ BREECH-LOADER: CONCLUSION When the moon is full and nearly at the zenith it seems to move so slowly that the shadows scarcely change their position.

In winter, when the branches are bare, a light that is nearly vertical over a tree can cast but little shadow, and that falls immediately around the trunk.

So that the smallness of the shadow itself and the slowness of its motion together tend to conceal it.
The snow on the ground increases the sense of light, and in approaching the wood the scene is even more distinct than during the gloomy day.

The tips of the short stubble that has not yet been ploughed in places just protrude above the surface, and the snow, frozen hard, crunches with a low sound under foot.

But for that all is perfectly still.