

substantial a vision projected by the soul 

 upon illimitable space. On the instant all 

 things are smitten with unreality ; the solid 

 earth sinks beneath him, and leaves him 

 solitary and awestruck in a universe that is 

 a dream. He cannot understand, but he 

 feels what Emerson meant when he said, 

 " The Supreme Being does not build up 

 Nature around us, but puts it forth through 

 us, as the life of the tree puts forth new 

 branches and leaves." That which was 

 fixed, stable, cast in permanent forms for- 

 ever, was suddenly annihilated by a revela- 

 tion which spoke to the heart rather than 

 the intellect, and laid bare at a glance the 

 unseen spiritual foundations upon which all 

 things rest at last. From that moment the 

 boy saw with other eyes, and lived hence- 

 forth in things not made with hands. 

 / If we could but revive the consciousness 

 of childhood, if we could but look out once 

 more through its unclouded eyes, what 

 divinity would sow the universe with light 

 and make it radiant with fadeless visions of 

 beauty and of truth ! 

 89 



