T.he Rambles of an Idler 



is, once having seen the statement made, we are 

 ever expecting such a pretty sight and never 

 contented with a single blossom. A better plan 

 is to take up kindly with a solitary flower and 

 consider what it stands for; seeing therein the 

 whole of summer and the fruits of autumn, per- 

 haps peering into futurity as far as the repose 

 of winter. This is no labor such as only the 

 philosopher is equal to; to exercise such fac- 

 ulties within humbler scope is the most worthy 

 purpose of an outing. Muscles can be kept lim- 

 ber in a gymnasium but muscles and mind coop- 

 erate only in the open air. 



"A little child shall lead them'." Be led by 

 a violet and you will dance through life, trip- 

 ping it lightly over the roughest ground. 



I read recently that a new species of violet 

 had been discovered some hundred miles to the 

 north of us, but why stand astonished over the 

 announcement when the blue and white and pur- 

 ple bloom of the door-yard has not yet appealed 

 to us as it should? It is wonderland wherever 

 we happen to be ignorant, which is the usual 

 condition, and a wonderful land in proportion as 

 our eyes are open. Whether shut or open is 

 our own affair. 



144 



