THE SECEET OS HAPPINESS 255 



seemed to be underdraining my own life and carry- 

 ing off the stagnant water, as well as that of the 

 land. Then a lot of ash stumps and brush, an old 

 apple orchard, and a great many rocks and large 

 stones were to be removed before the plough could 

 be set going. 



With what delight I saw this work go forward, and 

 I bore my own part in it ! I had not seen such elec- 

 tric April days for years ; I had not sat down to 

 dinner with such relish and satisfaction for the past 

 decade; I had not seen the morning break with 

 such anticipations since I was a boy. The clear, 

 bright April days, the great river dimpling and shin- 

 ing there, the arriving birds, the robins laughing, the 

 high-holes calling, the fox sparrows whistling, the 

 blackbirds gurgling, and the hillside slope where we 

 were at work, — what delight I had in it all, and 

 what renewal of life it brought me ! I found the best 

 way to see the spring come was to be in the field at 

 work. Tou are then in your proper place, and the 

 genial influences steal in upon you and envelop you 

 unawares. Tou glance up from youi work, and the 

 landscape is suddenly brimming with beauty. There 

 is more joy and meaning in the voices of the birds 

 than you ever before noticed. Tou do not have 

 time to exhaust the prospect or to become sated with 

 nature, but feel her constantly as a stimulating pre- 

 sence. Out of the comers of your eyes and by a 

 kind of indirection you see the subtle and renewing 

 spirits of the season at work. 



Before April was finished, the plough had done 



