THE EVOLUTION OF NATURE GUIDING 255 



play than work. Everything Miss Sullivan taught 

 me she illustrated by a beautiful story or a 

 poem. . . . She introduced dry technicalities 

 of science little by little, making every subject so 

 real that I could not help remembering what she 

 taught." 



Darwin, who appears to be the most influential 

 man of the last century, was anything but a hook- 

 man. He met the requirements of school and 

 college with difficulty and with reluctance. But 

 field excursions aroused his powers and gave splen- 

 did purpose to his life. 



Elizabeth Cady Stanton, as a little girl, was fas- 

 cinated with running water, moonlight, and the 

 mystery and sounds of the night. Often after the 

 nurse had tucked her in she climbed out on the 

 window sill and sat listening and wondering for an 

 hour or two. 



As a boy Humboldt was kept out of school and 

 encouraged to ramble in the wilds, thus developim: 

 initiative and independence. Humboldt and Lin- 

 coln appear to have been chiefly indebted to na- 

 ture for their vision which they afterward helped 

 realize for the world. 



Froebel appreciated the value of natural history 

 material for little children. 



Charles G. Adams, perhaps the leading author- 

 ity on ecology, has pointed out the significance of 

 the response of animal and plant life to environ- 

 ment. 



