A CHILD OF NATURE 
A 
Mi 
the dry-eyed and sober-visaged men 
never laid any such charge at his 
door ; but there had been a lifelong 
disregard of the traditional wisdom 
of the rural community, sometimes 
breaking into fiery contempt of its 
prudential philosophy and its toil- 
some surrender to the hardest con- 
ditions of its life. These men had 
never rebelled against the stubborn 
soil that seemed to bear nothing 
graciously, after the manner of Na- 
ture in kindlier climes, but had to 
be beaten and broken into fertility. 
There was no fellowship between 
them and their surroundings ; there 
was rather an unbroken conflict ; 
Nature must master them or they 
must master Nature, and they never 
[6] 
V5 
vl 
•"" 
&?- 
23 
