MY DEVON YEAR 



THE SECRET OF THE DAY 



MONG the pomps and pageants of the 

 seasons, revealed by nearly every sun that 

 rises, painted upon the clouds, mirrored in 

 the waters, and wrought into the fabric of 

 the earth, shall be found a reflection or image of 

 human emotions : the Secret of the Day, to be won 

 from harmonies or discords of natural things. And a 

 pilgrimage to seek this affinity is among the deepest 

 joys your country dweller knows. On such high 

 days a man may wander forth into the aisles of the 

 eternal temple and strive to win that message proper 

 to the time. From glare of unshadowed noons it can 

 take shape, or from the twilight hour ; from dayspring 

 on the heather and granite, or from still moments 

 ruled by the moon ; from busy hamlets and orchard 

 lands, or the murmuring of bees in remote moors; 

 from the whisper of rains and rivers ; from the songs 

 of birds, or the silences of ancient forests and unfretted 

 wastes. 



