DAYS IN DOVE DALE 17 



and during all that time Nature and I have 

 been for the most part strangers to each other ; 

 and now that I meet her in her most en- 

 chanting beauty, I feel like a bashful lover, 

 unable to find a single phrase wherewith to 

 address her, or to express my admiration. 



I would advise all young people to study 

 the language of Nature in their youth, and in 

 old age they will be able to hold intelligent 

 converse with her. 



"Gather ye rosebuds while ye may, 



Old time is still a-flying ; 

 And this same flower that smiles to-day, 

 To-morrow may be dying." 



Here am I, an old man, wandering through 

 lovely scenes with a sort of childish delight ; 

 but with a feeling of mournful regret that, 

 withal, Nature and I are strangers. 



How have I neglected her in my youthful 

 days ! And how she laughs at me now in my 

 old age ! 



" Nigh threescore years employ'd with ceaseless care 

 In catching smoke, and feeding upon air." 



I long to be a botanist, an artist, a geologist, 

 a fern collector, even a genuine piscator ! I 



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