Milestones 29 



And Nature, the old nurse, took 



The child upon her knee, 

 Saying: "Here is a story-book 



Thy Father has written for thee. 



"Come, wander with me," she said, 

 "Into regions yet untrod 

 And read what is still unread 

 In the manuscripts of God.*' 



And he wandered away and away 



With Nature, the dear old nurse, 

 Who sang to him night and day 



The rhymes of the universe. 



And whenever the way seemed long, 



Or his heart began to fail, 

 She would sing a more wonderful song, 



Or tell a more marvellous tale. 



The Fiftieth Milestone 



1SS0 



THE Semi-Centennial Celebration on April 28, 1880, was an 

 important event, the record of which is a fascinating story 

 worthy of the indomitable men upon whose sacrifices the Society 

 was built, stone upon stone. They have earned imperishable fame 

 though this consideration had no place in the single-minded devo- 

 tion with which they served the cause of Science and Education. 

 No true American can read the history of the first fifty years of our 

 Society without a vivid realization of the sterling character, great 

 ability, and self-sacrificing spirit to which we owe so much. The story 

 of the Boston Society of Natural History is the story of Massa- 



