The desire
for excitement has turned our minds to vainer subjects. The struggles
which our elders have made for money and position have deprived them
of chances for regarding natural objects. However deplorable this may
be, it is a still more lamentable fact, that you, dear girls, give
so little heed to Nature,--you who have time and to spare. It lies
with you to cultivate this love for the natural world, that future
generations may be more mindful of it.
When we refuse the gladness that Nature offers us, we dismiss a large
share of the happiness God intended for us. I ought to be a little
more lenient in my criticism on the lack of appreciating Nature,
perhaps; for not a few of us may find lingering in our minds some
autumnal glory which lights up our memories with colors of crimson and
gold. We should remember, however, that not only the glow of autumn and
the flush of summer are beautiful, but that every season, every climate,
every aspect in the shifting panorama of Nature, has a beauty as real.
Our own region, be it arid with parching suns, or wet with frequent
rains; be it always winter there, or always summer, is full of beauty.
There is sunset on the desert, moonrise on mid-ocean, gorgeous coloring
and crowding life in the tropics, dazzling starlight over ice-bound
lands. Neither is one day so much better than another for beholding
Nature.
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