A NATURE PICTURE. 



Nature is full of surprises to him who 

 regularly strolls in the fields and woods. 

 When a nature lover is taking his out- 

 ing he always meets the unexpected. He 

 sees some phenomenon once and once 

 only, or something unusual or out of the 

 ordinary, in bird, animal or insect life, 

 or discovers them under conditions that 

 never recur again. Last year I wit- 

 nessed a remarkable bit of nature paint- 

 ing and a beautiful illusion, caused by 

 lights and shades, the equal of which no 

 artist could produce. In a valley below 

 me was a large field of wheat, full grown 

 but not yet ripened. A breeze caused the 

 grain stalks to undulate like the waves of 

 a lake. This motion, combined with a 

 peculiar effect of lights and shades upon 

 the green wheat heads, as they rippled 

 up and down, caused a remarkable illu- 



sion, so deceptive that one would feel 

 sure that it was real water. It was an 

 actual lake, with the sinuous waves com- 

 ing to the shore in graceful undulations 

 and beating upon the beach, the lights 

 and shades giving to it the peculiar green 

 color seen in deep water. The best 

 attempt at a description would only con- 

 vey a very inadequate impression of so 

 rare a scene. It was one of the most 

 beautiful sights that I ever had seen. 

 The deception was complete. 



In hundreds of tramps taken afield this 

 was the only time that such a remark- 

 able illusive phenomenon had ever pre- 

 sented itself to my view. For instruc- 

 tion that fascinates and ennobles, and 

 pleasure that never wearies, seek nature, 

 Charles Emmett Barnes. 



SUNRISE. 



On the lone beach I stand and gaze across 



To that dawn-distant tryst where flushed and shy, 



The sea lifts up its face and lays its cheek 

 Against the yearning profile of the sky. 



Then stealthily, as if from mortal view 



To screen that ecstacy of love's delight, 

 The fog's brine-silvered fingers interlace, 



Blurring the roseate vision from my sight. 



— Rae Mortimer Seymour. 



