An Outlook on Winter 165 



stretch away into leaden skies. The lines of 

 the landscape become hard and sharp. Gusty 

 winds scurry over the fields. It is the turn of 

 the year. 



To many persons, however, the dread of 

 winter, or the lack of enjoyment in it, is a ques- 

 tion of weather. We speak of bad weather, as 

 if weather ever could be bad. Weather is not 

 a human institution, and it is not to be measured 

 by human standards. There is strength and 

 mighty uplift in the roaring winds that go rois- 

 tering over the winter hills. The cold and the 

 storm are a part of winter, as the warmth and 

 the soft rain are a part of summer. Persons 

 who find happiness in the out-of-doors only in 

 what we call pleasant weather have not found 

 the great joys of the open fields. 



We speak of winter as bare, but this is only 

 a contrast with summer. In the summer all 

 things are familiar and close; the depths are 

 covered. The view is restricted. We see 

 things near by. In the winter things are 

 uncovered. Old objects have new forms. 

 There are new curves in the roadway through 



