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THE GUIDE TO NATURE 



A SAMPLE OF THE MANY ATTRACTIVE SUMMER HOUSES. 



thorough knowledge of the temper- 

 ament and character of every patient. 

 He investigates mentality as closely as 

 a watchmaker does a watch and finds 

 out the "kink" or the excessive strain 

 or defect and knows how to eliminate 

 it. 



Dr. Givens exemplifies the things he 

 does ; he keeps calm and free from 

 nerve strain. He carries the biggest 

 load with the greatest apparent ease 

 of any man I ever saw. I have seen 

 many a man, and some women, with 

 less than a thousandth part of the busi- 

 ness and responsibility that he has, 

 who were veritable fusserbudgets. ex- 

 citable themselves and exciting to all 

 about them. To me the most astonish- 

 ing thing with this man is his perfect 

 calmness and modesty. Think of it ! 

 A man, the sole owner of a "village" 

 honored by physicians, scientists, 

 humanitarians and a great insti- 

 tution of learning, with the beauty- 

 spot of Connecticut as his personal 

 property, yet not once appearing as 

 anything but the quietest, calmest, 

 most modest and retiring of men; net 

 once has he said, "Don't forget to pho- 

 tograph this," or, "Be sure to make a 

 note of that." However, 1 have a sus- 

 picion that I am nearing the danger 

 line of upsetting the record for calm- 

 ness, when he reads these lines and 

 notes the freedom I am taking in these 



remarks in public regarding his per- 

 sonal characteristics. 



But over all the place are his own 

 characteristics of peacefulness. It is 

 restful and invigorating. I think that 

 when I get tired and nervous and a 

 little excited perhaps, and want to get 

 out of the laboratory and office, I will 

 shoulder my camera and go to Dr. 

 Givens's. If you are a reader not in 

 sympathy with a naturalist's pursuits, 

 you may be disposed to laugh. Please 

 do not. There is no joke about it. 

 Where else should a naturalist go but 

 where nature, beautiful and interesting, 

 is to be found at her best? If the ac- 

 companying photographs do not show 

 you that there is no superior natural 

 realm, wild or cultivated, in all Con- 

 necticut, then I have used my camera 

 in vain. I have not done justice to the 

 subject. Then, too, the nature interests 

 is not merely a matter of aesthetics. 

 Here is extended opportunity for de- 

 tailed study of trees shrubs and plants 

 with its wide variety of hundreds of 

 shrubs it may well be called an arbo- 

 retum. 



The greater part of this "village of 

 rest" is on a hill within a large "valley 

 of peace." To the east and the west of 

 the village are vastly higher hills. The 

 western part of the village extends 

 down to a long and picturesque 

 lake of Connecticut. This has been 



