Vol. IV. 



JULY, 1896. 



Copyright 1896. All Rights Reserved. 



Xo. 40. 



IDYL OF A RAMBLER. 



BY H. B. SMALL. 



When man was banished from the 

 Garden of Eden, he received the dread 

 sentence, that " the ground should be 

 cursed for his sake ; and that in sor- 

 row should he eat of it all the days of 

 his life." But we are all aware that 

 this language, though true in its gen- 

 eral application, is not to be understood 

 in a literal and exclusive sense. Man 

 was told that the earth should " bring 

 forth thorns and thistles ;" but it also 

 produces flowers to gratify, and fruits 

 to nourish him. The Infinite Being 

 has said that the " days of our life 

 shall be marked with sorrow," and they 

 are ; but the afflictions to which we are 

 subject are attended with blessed anti- 

 dotes. Moral sources of enjoyment are 

 given us, as fruits and flowers for the 

 soul, and the teachings of interest 

 should lead us to consider with atten- 

 tion those gifts which enlarge the capa- 

 cities of the spirit, and call forth won- 

 derment at the mighty workings of all 

 bounteous Nature. For instance, who 

 is insensible to the beauties of the 

 rising or the setting of the summer 

 sun ? Who can behold the moonbeams 



reflected from silent river, lake, or sea, 

 and not feel happy in the sight ? 

 None, I believe in early life. But 

 when hardened in the ways of the world, 

 and of man ; when the chief end pur- 

 sued is the accumulation of wealth, 

 acquisition of power, or pursuit of 

 pleasure, then mankind loses sight of 

 the beauties of Nature. Were the in- 

 herent love of them cherished by early 

 education, how seldom would it be 

 destroyed or become dormant, as it too 

 often is. But the student of Nature 

 finds in every sphere of existence a 

 means of rational enjoyment, a jaleas- 

 ure so fascinating when grasped at that 

 the mind for the time forgets the ills 

 of life, and the glories of Eden spring 

 up in imagination through the mists 

 of troubles ; for in every bank, and 

 woodland, and running stream, in every 

 bird among the boughs and every 

 cloud above his head, stores of interest 

 abound which enable him to forget 

 awhile himself and man, and all the 

 care of life in the inexhaustible beauty 

 and glory of Nature, and of the God 

 who made and controls her. 



Let us walk side by side in imagina- 

 tion with a naturalist in his daily ram- 

 ble ; let us blend our mind with his to 



