HOW TO BE HAPPY. 187 



to be content with comparatively little, and not 

 set his heart on solving every mystery of sound 

 or glimpse which comes to him. One must be 

 content to let some things remain unknown, and 

 enjoy what he can understand, if he would be 

 happy with nature. And if at some future time 

 — as often happens — the mystery is solved, the 

 joy is great enough to pay for waiting, and much 

 greater than if he had worried and tramped the 

 country over in attempts to settle it. 



I have seen it recommended as the best way 

 to know birds, to follow every note heard, till 

 the bird is found and identified. This method 

 requires great activity, and often an hour's search 

 results in the discovery of an unfamiliar note of 

 a familiar bird, — the robin or sparrow, perhaps. 

 Meanwhile one has missed a dozen charming 

 scenes in bird-life, and a chance to make ac- 

 quaintances worth more than the gratification of 

 that curiosity. The wiser course, it seems to 

 me, is to learn to be content with what comes to 

 you, and not mourn over what eludes you ; to be 

 happy with what nature offers you, nor make 

 yourself miserable over what she for the present 

 withholds ; to adopt for your motto the grand 

 words of a fellow bird-lover, — 



" What is mine shall know my face." 



And in spite of such regrets, enough is always 

 left to repay patient waiting. From across the 



