356 THE OLIVE LEAF. CHAP. 



blue sky that broods over the waste, and been subdued 

 by the awful silence and steadfast patience of the hills. 

 Many a bitter, repulsive nature has joined the society of 

 his fellow-creatures with garments smelling of myrrh, 

 cassia, and aloes, the fragrant plants that grow only in 

 the desert. The gain to individuals themselves and to 

 society at large by the training of enforced loneliness 

 cannot be over-estimated ; and wanting in the best and 

 highest qualities is that man or woman to whom Christ 

 does not say, at one period or other of life, " Come ye 

 yourselves apart into a desert-place, and rest awhile." 



" FATHER EVEREST." 



THE summit of the Himalayan range * 



Wears the resemblance of an aged man, 



With head and shoulders bowed as if in prayer. 



'Tis fitting that the highest point of earth 



Should thus assume the lowly attitude 



Of adoration, near Heaven's Great White Throne. 



As earth's high-priest, clothed in a spotless robe 



Of snow, unmelted since creation's dawn, 



That awful peak enters within the veil 



Of braided clouds, into the inmost shrine 



Of nature's sanctuary inviolate, 



Bearing the crimson blood of dying suns 



* The highest point of Mount Everest, locally called " Father 

 Everest," the loftiest mountain in the world, when clearly seen 

 against the blue sky, presents a most startling resemblance to an 

 old man praying. 



