54 



NATURE FOB ITS OWN SAKE 



shock, no jar, no clash ; there are no hidden 

 spots of earth so silent as the depths where the 

 stars lie buried. 



This perpetual violet-blue glow, unmarred 

 and unspotted by high light or shadow or vary- 

 ing tint, save such as it receives from the sun, 

 might be thought monotonous, did we always 

 have it before us. But humanity does not make 

 its abiding-place on mountain-tops. It prefers 

 the valleys, and there the vapors and earth 

 mists and dust particles produce a different- 

 looking sky from that which is seen from the 

 height of Mt. Blanc. It is fortunate that it 

 is so ; yet, even in the valleys, people some- 

 times complain (it is said that they do in South- 

 ern California) of " the monotony of blue sky." 

 In reality the " monotony" is not in the sky, 

 but in the eyes that look at it. Seen through 

 the lower strata of atmosphere, it is never the 

 same for any length of time. Its form is con- 

 tinually changed by clouds and cloud-flocks, new 

 colors are being woven backward, forward, and 

 across it, by shifting masses of atmosphere, its 

 light is waxing and waning with the motion of 

 the earth. There is a continuous weave and 

 ravel of delicate-hued textures, and from dawn 

 to dusk there is not a moment's pause. Sun 



