THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 155 
_ These lines help us to think, and surely convey to us the un- 
erring conclusion that such men must have made a serious 
study of nature’s handiwork. Truly we are engaged in no mean 
profession. All great men assure us of the refining power imparted 
by communion with nature. Still we may go further and see greater 
wonders, perhaps not so applicable to your craft, but grandeur we 
all should feel and comprehend. 
Did you ever notice how an approaching storm prepares our 
senses to fully realize its mighty power? Stand upon those naked 
riven rocks that form the mountain-side. Look over the far reach- 
ing landscape, spread out in quiet beauty. Away to the west we 
observe a low-lying mass of clouds, but all around us seems serene. 
The gentle breeze that we so much enjoyed has ceased ; not a leaf 
Stirs ; the heat becomes oppressive. We look to the west again ; this 
sombre cloud is rolling towards us; a feeling of dread takes posses- 
sion of us; but on it comes, the city’s domes and spires, that but a 
moment before glistened in the summer’s sun, now seem wrapped in 
a funeral pall. Out of the sky’s inky blackness a long serpentine 
cloud, grey and sulphurous, rides before. If we look down into the 
valley now, we see the tall trees bending to the earth. We hear the 
distant rumbling thunder ; now the clouds are rent. The forked 
lightning flashes in our very eyes. We feel a hot bellowing wind and 
hear the hissing rain, while deafening peals of thunder almost shake 
the very mountain. Earth and sky seem to be at war. 
This simple description will serve my purpose, for I merely 
want to show the connection and to impress you with my idea of 
- feeling just what nature is trying to impart to us. 
Take most of the photographs of Niagara. Do you think 
they convey to us any adequate description of its grandeur? We 
miss the mighty roar, the vibrating earth, the boiling cauldron, the 
beautiful rainbow, the might, the majesty, the grandeur, the sublimity 
of the wonderful cataract itself. We must feel before we can ex- 
press, and although your instrument is sure, I know you are often in 
doubt, and though nature tempts you on every hand, like myself you 
are always more or less undecided. Nevertheless, if you take fewer 
but better-chosen views, I know it will amply repay you. 
I have been speaking in a general way, trying to enforce 
one truth in particular, that is, let your views be in keeping and 
harmonious. 
