Expiring Embers 331 



fading grass and the falling leaves? Nay, the very 

 brevity of life, the fewness and precariousness of 

 our days, render them more precious. The bee 

 may be drowned in honey. We may have as happy 

 days here as it is possible for any one to have in 

 heaven. 



We cannot have here a view of the whole starry 

 hemisphere: to obtain it we must take a boat and 

 row out into the lake; but there are vistas large and 

 small through the foliage, which possess some of 

 the properties of the telescope. Through one of 

 these the rising Mars alternately flashes and is 

 hidden by the wind-blown foliage, his brilliance 

 enhanced by his solitariness and his fitfulness, and 

 by the green-blackness of the leafy robe upon which 

 he appears to be set. Through a larger vista over- 

 head four bright stars are visible. The emerald is 

 a lovely gem. It has the color which the eye, 

 trained to the beauty of verdure, loves best to rest 

 upon, therefore we pardon the emerald's lack of the 

 brilliance of the diamond, but in one of these stars 

 I perceive the sparkle of an emerald sun. It has 

 the serenity of the one stone with the emphasis of 

 the other. A star near it is white, with the slight- 

 est trace of yellow, and another, near the two, is 

 for a star of rather a dull red. The color of the 

 green sun is light, but positive, and its ray is pecu- 

 liarly beautiful. Each of the three stars throws the 

 color of its neighbor into contrast. I do not re- 



