114 OUT OF DOORS. 



Calm and quiet is the evening now, the sounds of 

 labour are hushed and the bright songs of happy birds 

 are stilled in sleep. But Nature has her vespers as 

 well as her orisons ; the shrill cry of the bat and the 

 deep humming of the circling beetle are psalms of praise 

 as intelligible to sympathetic hearts as the sweet melody 

 of feathered throats, or the pleasant sounds of busy 

 insect wings. We who enjoy the blessed privilege of 

 holding such sweet communion with Nature, and whose 

 spirits are made capable of perceiving the Creator 

 through the various forms in which He manifests His 

 love, cannot do less than add our own heartfelt praises 

 to those of all created things, with fervent thanks for 

 the past, and loving trust for the future. 



