268 EIVERBY 



look at the pictures, but the real student studies the 

 text; he alone knows what the pictures really mean. 

 There is a great deal of by-play going on in the life 

 of nature about us, a great deal of variation and 

 out- cropping of individual traits, that we entirely 

 miss unless we have our eyes and ears open. 



It is not like the play at the theatre, where every- 

 thing is made conspicuous and aims to catch the 

 eye, and where the story clearly and fully unfolds 

 itself. On nature's stage many dramas are being 

 played at once, and without any reference to the 

 lookers-on, unless it be to escape their notice. The 

 actors rush or strut across the stage, the curtain 

 rises or falls, the significant thing happens, and we 

 heed it not, because our wits are dull, or else our 

 minds are preoccupied. We do not pay strict atten- 

 tion. Nature will not come to you ; you must go to 

 her; that is, you must put yourself in communica- 

 tion with her; you must open the correspondence; 

 you must train your eye to pick out the significant 

 things. A quick open sense, and a lively curiosity 

 like that of a boy are necessary. Indeed, the sen- 

 sitiveness and alertness of youth and the care and 

 patience of later years are what make the successful 

 observer. 



The other morning my little boy and I set out 

 to find the horse, who had got out of the pasture 

 and gone off. Had he gone up the road or down? 

 We did not know, but we imagined we could dis- 

 tinguish his track going down the road, so we began 

 our search in that direction. The road presently led 



