The Daffodil 



Consequently whatever seems immedi- 

 ately to restore lost strength we call 

 refreshing. Thus we speak of a giant 

 refreshed with wine, or of a man who 

 eats and is refreshed. Still the term is 

 most generally associated with the idea 

 of cold ; and as cold depresses vitality, 

 whilst heat is necessary to maintain it, 

 this may at first sight seem strange. 

 But we only call a cool breeze more 

 refreshing than a warm one because the 

 former braces and exhilarates, whilst the 

 latter is more apt to depress us. At 

 all times warmth, and especially the 

 warmth of a fire, seems to give increase 

 of comfort rather than of power and 

 disposition for bodily exertion. If we 

 were frozen that heat might restore us 

 to life, but not to an active life ; we 

 should feel for a time that our strength 

 and energy were gone. And practically 

 we find it unsafe to approach a fire 

 when we are very cold ; the restoration 

 of warmth by such means is always 

 painful, and it would be certain destruc- 

 tion to a frozen limb. 



Now to apply this definition. The 

 freshest-looking plants are those which 

 have the most marked external signs of 

 active and energetic life. Much mois- 



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