218 EIVERBY 



Tiral objects, the open face of the country, sheds a 

 cheering and soothing influence at all times; but it 

 is only at rare intervals that he experiences the thrill 

 of a fresh impression. I find that a kind of pre- 

 occupation, as the farmer with his work, the angler 

 with his rod, the sportsman with his gun, the walker 

 with his friend, the lounger Avith his book, affords 

 conditions that are not to be neglected. So much 

 will steal in at the corners of your eyes; the unpre- 

 meditated glance, when the mind is passive and re- 

 ceptive, often stirs the soul. Upon whom does the 

 brook make such an impression as upon the angler? 

 How he comes to know its character ! how he studies 

 its every phase! how he feels it through that rod 

 and line as if they were a part of himself! I pity 

 the person who does not get at least one or two fresh 

 impressions of the charm and sweetness of nature in 

 the spring. Later in the season it gets to be more 

 of an old story ; but in March, when the season is 

 early, and in April, when the season is late, there 

 occasionally come days which awaken a new joy in 

 the heart. Every recurring spring one experiences 

 this fresh delight. There is nothing very tangible 

 yet in awakening nature, but there is something in 

 the air, some sentiment in the sunshine and in the 

 look of things, a prophecy of life and renewal, that 

 sends a thrill through the frame. The first spar- 

 row's song, the first robin's call, the first bluebird's 

 warble, the first phcebe's note — who can hear it 

 without emotion? Or the first flock of migrating 

 geese or ducks — how much they bring north with 



