J6 
NATURE'S BENEFICENCE 
Fellowship with nature is not denied to dwellers 
in the city* Though it may seem far away and lost 
in impossible distance, it is really crowding in on 
every hand* Some animals may have long since 
departed, the wisest being first to go* The Beaver 
leaves with the earliest indications of permanent 
human settlement, as a prudent man foreseeth the 
evil and hideth himself* One by one his forest friends 
depart, as wisdom gives them understanding, until a 
few degenerates like the Muskrat and the Skunk fall 
into habits of domestication* Birds may avoid the 
city, with its fumes and exhalations, as a place 
unclean* Still the inviting fellowship is at our doors. 
In every neglected field, in every swampy indentation, 
under every clump of Witch-hazel or Dogwood, 
among the seedling Oaks, Maples, and Elms, by 
every muddy stream not yet diverted to a culvert, 
and even along the open roadways, the varied colours 
and fantastic shapes of the wild flora show that 
nature's lamp still holds out to burn* It is not neces- 
sary to make a long pilgrimage to the primeval forest, 
nor to envy those blessed with the privilege of a 
private audience with the spirit of solitude in her 
