DEVELOPMENT OF A WOMAN GUIDE 271 



Although everyone has inherited outdoor in- 

 stincts which awaken with opportunity, yet, so 

 long have most people been segregated from con- 

 tact with the primeval — wild flowers, wild life, and 

 crumbling, half-vine-concealed cliffs — that they wel- 

 come an intelligent and tactful interpreter of na- 

 ture's ways. Such a guide enriches the outing, 

 fills it with information, enjoyment, and vision. 



A nature guide is doing the work of the world. 

 Our homesteader had the art and the vision which 

 enabled her to make these outings permanent, 

 purposeful, growth-compelling experiences. They 

 had none of the movie madness, nor the legend- 

 diverting magic, but they gave a definite contact 

 with the real world of life. Nature-guided excur- 

 sions are educational and possess astounding pos- 

 sibilities for arousing the feelings and developing 

 the unlimited resources of the mind. 



No, this young woman was not wasting her time 

 homesteading; it enriched her life, filled it with 

 eagerness and delight. "To miss the joy is to miss 

 all," says Stevenson in his immortal "Lantern 

 Bearers." She is not missing it. The world may 

 not know it, but she is as happy as Stevenson's 

 boy with the precious hidden lantern on his belt. 

 In the work of nature guiding she has found her 

 place. 



THE END 



