360 AROUND AN OLD HOMESTEAD. 



has passed upon what we call the material world, in conse- 

 quence of or in sympathy with man's errors, it has not, as we 

 have seen, been such as to effect the correspondence of its mean- 

 ings, spiritually interpreted, with those of the kingdom of 

 heaven, as revealed by our Lord ; and, if there has been any 

 change due to the perversion of human life, then may we expect 

 that Nature will in like manner respond unto the renewals 

 of our life." 



Then, too, even in this life, Nature comes as a con- 

 solation in the very face of evil, and her wildness and 

 reserve, her buoyancy and free life, her variety and 

 constant surprises, are the springs of hope and joy to 

 all earth's myriads of inhabitants; while in her deeper 

 significance men learn of the truths of tenderness, of 

 beauty, of mystery, and of far-away infinity, the flute- 

 notes from wood and meadow interacting with the 

 breezes among the trees and the greenness and the blue 

 sky and the rippling water, to form one world-wide 

 harmony, and to make existence a dream and a fore- 

 taste of immortality. The most beautiful music seems 

 perfectly in attune with Nature, from the concerts of 

 an orchestra to the simplest notes of the flageolet. The 

 coy wood-ways of bird, beast, and flower what a 

 world we have ! 



Instead of a totally supernaturalistic creed shall we 

 not add to the statement of our beliefs this affirmation: 

 / believe in Nature! "I believe in the forest," said 

 Thoreau, speaking of the necessity of wildness in our 

 lives and literature, "and in the meadows, and in the 

 night in which the corn grows." That was part of his 

 creed, and his religion. Oh, yes ! the world is full of 



