260 FAMILIAR FEATURES OF THE ROADSIDE. 



or pure, or variegated. The atmosphere throws a 

 veil of mystery over the hues of mountain, river, 

 meadow, and tree in autumn, so that there is com- 

 plexity in every tint. Every object is a mosaic of tiny 

 colors, with a bit of purple here, orange there, and 

 green yonder, as the case may be. But how is 

 one to believe that, if color is so impalpable a thing 

 that one must needs stand on one's head to see it ? 

 Well, there is no gain without pain. He who is told 

 that a certain thing is extraordinary, must believe the 

 fact until he knows the truth of it by self -acquired 

 knowledge. 



There is no short road to knowledge. If, by the 

 wayside, we are unwilling to devote a great deal of 

 time and attention to Nature, we must be content to 

 travel blindly on without a taste of that broader, 

 better life which in seeing and knowing possesses 

 all things. The botanist, the entomologist, and the 

 ornithologist are in possession of that greater knowl- 

 edge of life which is equivalent to a power over all 

 things. The impressionist has in his possession the 

 key to Nature's mysteries of color. The power and 

 the key are not beyond our reach. 



