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A CHILD OF NA T URE 
John Foster found Nature with the 
first pure touch of a child's hand 
and loved Nature with the sweet 
unconsciousness o\ a child's heart. 
It was a vast playground, into 
which he made his way with the 
sen^e of possession; but from the be- 
ginning there were mysterious voices 
calling from a distance ; there were 
sudden pauses in the sounds of day 
and in the silence of the night when 
there seemed to be a presence felt, 
but not perceived ; hidden, but not 
unknown ; in which every visible 
thing stirred and bloomed and lived. 
This strange, haunting presence 
^Vr'i suddenly Hashed into his imagi- 
nation when he heard the book 
W* vend for the first time ; and when 
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