ON PLAIN AND PEAK 



But there, in the lonely valley, no sunshine 

 came. 



High, dark mountains rose on every side ; walls 

 of frowning crag, with hardly a fir-tree to break the 

 barrenness of the bare grey granite. Stones and 

 boulders, carried down by avalanches from the 

 heights above, lay scattered everywhere around us. 

 A rivulet flowed through the valley, but without 

 sound. The very air hung dumb and motionless ; 

 not a breath of wind disturbed the stillness. 



There is a mighty power in silence a power to 

 lift the human mind from the vanities and emptiness 

 of life to something higher. 



The hush of the twilight, the calm beauty of a 

 summer night, the stillness of a snow-clad landscape 

 what is it in them that stirs those better feelings 

 that lie hidden in every one ? Not the mere beauty 

 of the fading light, of the starry sky, of the dazzling 

 whiteness, but the vast speechless voice of silence 

 that speaks in them all, and raises our thoughts 

 to something loftier and nobler. 



There are other places of worship besides the 

 churches and cathedrals of men. Go out into the 

 forests and mountains, by the river or sea-shore. 

 God still walks there, and speaks face to face with 

 man. 



We wandered along the lonely valley to where 

 a great mountain shuts it in. The twilight lay 



214 



