THE COUNTRY HOME [CHAPTER 
Then an agent comes along, and sells four white, 
cut-leaved, weeping birches, and these are set out 
in another exhibition row; but birds never nest in 
them. Then the folks bethink themselves of a 
row of evergreens, which they keep trimmed into 
solid cones, such as a good mechanic might turn 
out of wood and paint green and set in rows across 
the lawn. Finally, two weeping willows are set in 
front of the house, expressive of nature’s grief over 
such ludicrous notions of the beautiful. The only 
salvation of such a place is that, by and by, neglect 
will kill out four-fifths of the trees, and the rest, 
being left out of line, make a tolerable lawn. Learn, 
first of all, that nature abhors conventionalism; 
never repeats herself; does not inquire what folks 
will say; gets in love with beauty and truth, and 
then plants her nooks and corners for no other 
reason in the world than that she loves the beauti- 
ful and the true. Those who have not been born 
again to see the world about them, who really have 
no acquaintances among the trees, no friends 
among the birds, constitute a class by themselves. 
I will not say that they are degenerate, but they 
certainly are incapacitated for comprehending 
Out of Doors. 
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