THE SNOW-WALKERS. 



T TE who marvels at the beauty of the world in 

 summer will find equal cause for wonder and ad- 

 miration in winter. It is true the pomp and the pag- 

 eantry are swept away, but the essential elements re- 

 main, — the day and the night, the mountain and the 

 valley, the elemental play and succession and the per- 

 petual presence of the infinite sky. In winter the stars 

 seem to have rekindled their fires, the moon achieves 

 a fuller triumph, and the heavens wear a look of a 

 more exalted simplicity. Summer is more wooing and 

 seductive, more versatile and human, appeals to the af- 

 fections and the sentiments, and fosters inquiry and the 

 art impulse. Winter is of a more heroic cast, and ad- 

 dresses the intellect. The severe studies and disci- 

 plines come easier in winter. One imposes larger 

 tasks upon himself, and is less tolerant of his own 

 weaknesses. 



The tendinous part of the mind, so to speak, is more 

 developed in winter ; the fleshy, in summer. I should 

 say winter had given the bone and sinew to Literature, 

 summer the tissues and blood. 



The simplicity of winter has a deep moral. The re- 



