54 THE CHARM OF NATURE. 



in danger of being worsted, he "touched the esrth;" 

 and the instant he touched that, he became reno- 

 vated, and more mighty than his antagonist. So 

 also, when we are worn out by business, when we are 

 exhausted by study, when we " don't know what to 

 do with ourselves" with listless idleness ; nay, even 

 when our limbs are pained, and our temples throb- 

 bing with disease, if we would " touch the earth," 

 hold converse with nature for a little, in the way of 

 knowledge, we would find relief in all cases, and 

 renovation in many. 



If we examine the matter aright and carefully, we 

 shall find that at all ages, and under every circum- 

 stance of life, it is really nature which sweetens our 

 cup, and that, skilfully used, there is no gall in life 

 so bitter as that nature cannot turn it into honey. 

 Look at a little child on the meadow, no matter 

 though it has been bom in the very heart of a city, 

 and seen nothing but brick walls, and crowds, and 

 rolling carriages, and pavements, and dust; let it 

 once get its feet upon the sward, and it will toss 

 away the most costly playthings, and never gather 

 enough of the buttercups, and daisies, and other wild 

 flowers which prank the sod. And if it shall start 

 a little bird, which bounces onward with easy wing, 

 as if it were leaping from portion to portion of the 

 sightless air, how it will stretch its little hands, and 

 shout, and hurry on to catch the living treasure, 

 which, in its young but perfectly natural estimation, 

 is of more value than the wealth of the world. And 

 if the bird perches on the hedge, or the tree, and 

 sings its sweet song of security., " the little finger 

 will at once be held up by the little ear," and the 

 other hand will be extended, with the palm back- 

 wards, as if a sign were given by nature herself for 

 the world to listen and admire. Infants are, in 

 truth, our schoolmasters in the study of nature ; and 

 though we might feel our experience compromised 

 in learning wisdom of them, there is no reason why 



