IN THE FRONT YARD. 277 



of the oak and cherry and all the shades and tints of 

 the other trees of the forest give us such a picture as 

 only gifted nature herself can paint. 



And yet this resplendent golden summer of the year 

 is called the symbol of death. 



We have much to do in adding to the pleasure and 

 happiness of our declining years. As the day is closed 

 by the resplendent curtains of the clouds, so we can 

 make the hither shore a promise and a prophecy of 

 what lies beyond. You can gloomily wait by the river 

 in a barren land or you can wait in fields Ely si an amid 

 the fragrance and beauty of the choicest tributes which 

 earth can cast at your feet. You are already heir of 

 all things, and have had your coronation here of ^^riches 

 and honor.'' Hovering over and around you are the 

 choice tributes of the infinite love. Why not reach 

 out and take them ? You are sons of a king ; better be 

 princes than beggars. Time is the porch of eternity. 

 Earth is preparatory to heaven. We strive to have our 

 souls in accord with the peace and the purity, the har- 

 mony and sweetness of the heavenly state. Why not 

 educate also for the beauty of heaven ? 



Stand on the threshold of the future. Listen to the 

 salutations of the universe, ''All things are yours." 

 Think of a home whose foundations are gems, whose 

 dome is sapphire, whose walls are jasper, with gates of 

 pearl, with opal sea flashing in the supernal brightness, 

 with streets gold paved, with a mansion built by the 

 hand wdiich hung those mantles on the suns, which 

 touched so deftly the petals of the flower, which put 

 those tints on the clouds. 



