250 Walks in New England 



woods gleamed. This was revelation, this the 

 apocalyptic picture, God s glory breathing from 

 the earth and captured by the air in its wondrous 

 energies. 



And one noteworthy matter was that so light a 

 snowfall was over the ground that the most deli 

 cate of tiny seed-stalks of the flowers, the lowly 

 herbs and the little shrubs which are usually, when 

 such storms occur, buried deep in snow banks, 

 were now each bearing their burden of ice crystals, 

 and flashing from a million points their &quot; intoler 

 able magnificence.&quot; One saw jewels like stars in 

 magnitude, so rare that perforce one must find 

 them, to discover that not one great central ice 

 knot sent forth those stellar rays, but a favourable 

 crossing of several blades of grass or twigs of 

 sweet fern. Endless are the combinations of Na 

 ture to produce a desired effect, nay, an inevita 

 ble effect, for the crystal is as inevitable as the 

 motions of the stars in their courses. Remem 

 ber that wise saying : tc A fixed star is as much 

 within the bounds of Nature as a flower of the 

 field, though less obvious, and of far greater dig 

 nity.&quot; 



Of all this magnificence naught will long remain, 

 but so it is with the precious stones which men 

 amass and fight over. When all is done, what 

 remains for the man who has got these rievings of 



