EUCALYPTUS TREES. 83 
It was in the forests where the poetic mind of Schil- 
ler, during his early boyhood,* first of all awoke to 
its deep love for nature; where his strong sense for 
noble rectitude was formed; where he framed his 
ideals of all that is elevated and great. This influ- 
ence of nature we see reflected in other lofty minds ; 
it leads true genius on its luminous path. Contrast 
the magnificence of a dense forest, before the de- 
structive hand of man defaced it, with the cheerless 
aspect of wide landscapes devoid of wooded scenery— 
only open plains or treeless ridges bounding the hori- 
zon. The silent grandeur and solitude of a virgin 
forest inspires us almost with awe —much more so 
than even the broad expanse of the ocean. It con- 
veys, also, involuntarily to our mind a feeling as if 
we were brought more closely before the Divine Pow- 
er by whom the worlds without end were created, 
and before whom the proudest human work must 
sink into utter insignificance, No settlement, how- 
ever princely — no city, however great its splendor, 
brilliant its arts, or enchanting its pleasures — can 
arouse those sentiments of veneration which, among 
all the grand works of nature, an undisturbed noble 
forest-region is most apt to call forth. I never saw 
truly happier homes of unmingled contentedness than 
in the seclusion of the woods. It is as if the bracing 
pureness of the air, the remoteness from the outer 
world, the unrestricted freedom from formal restraint, 
give to forest-life a charm for which in vain we will 
ever seek elsewhere. The forest inhabitant, as a rule, 
sees his life prolonged ; an air of peace on all sides sur- 
rounds him; even with less prosperity, he is glad to 
ee 
* Sketch of the Life of Schiller, by Sir Edward Bulwer Lytton, p. 2, 
