m 
A CHILD OF NATURE 
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long, irregular processions ot hills, 
sweeping away in sublime disorder 
to join their leader in the far North ; 
to the south and east a rolling 
country was divided by rivers and 
dotted with villages. Few travel- 
lers crossed the hill to the village 
that lay a mile and more beyond, 
and for the most part John's child- 
hood was as solitary as if it had 
been cast on an island in mid-seas. 
But the boy never knew what lone- 
liness was. The deserted road, the 
rugged hillsides, the woodlands, 
were populous with life; he knew 
all their ways and had mastered 
all their secrets. When daisies 
were atield he was more active, 
but frozen rivulets and drifts of 
[15] 
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