THE SUMMIT OF THE YEARS 



birds — the naked maple woods flooded with the 

 warm, creative sunshine, the brown fields slipping 

 off their covering of snow, the loosened rills, the first 

 robin, the first phcebe, the first song sparrow — how 

 all these things thrilled one! The summer was for 

 bare feet, light clothes, freedom from school, straw- 

 berries, trout, haymaking, and the Fourth of July. 

 Autumn was for apples, nuts, wild pigeons, gray 

 squirrels, and the great dreamy tranquil days; 

 winter for the fireside, school, games, coasting, and 

 the tonic of frost and snow. How the stars twinkled 

 in winter! how the ice sang and whooped on the 

 ponds! how the snow sculpturing decked all the 

 farm fences! how the sheeted winds stalked across 

 the hills! 



Oh, the eagerness and freshness of youth! How 

 the boy enjoys his food, his sleep, his sports, his 

 companions, his truant days! His life is an adven- 

 ture, he is widening his outlook, he is extending his 

 dominion, he is conquering his kingdom. How cheap 

 are his pleasures, how ready his enthusiasms! In 

 boyhood I have had more delight on a haymow with 

 two companions and a big dog — delight that came 

 nearer intoxication — than I have ever had in all 

 the subsequent holidays of my life. When youth 

 goes, much goes with it. When manhood comes, 

 much comes with it. We exchange a world of de- 

 lightful sensations and impressions for a world of 

 duties and studies and meditations. The youth 

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