From moss-covered rocks whereon we are seated,
Nature spreads scenes such as art cannot yield;
With flowers of rare beauty our vision is greeted,
Our ears, with the bird-notes of forest and field.

Dogwood with tints from pink to pure whiteness,
Columbine crimson with pinnacled sheen,
Pinks of carnation, and orchards in brightness,
Vie with the meadows of velvety green.

The bobolink chatters in notes of perfection,
The oriole sings a love-song to his mate,
The whippoorwill clings to his perch for protection,
The crow laughs ha! ha! when the evening grows late.

Squirrel and humming-bird flit by like spirits,
Jack-in-the-pulpit stands ready to preach,
The roll of the anthem the wood-choir inherits,
Surpasses the harmony mortals can reach.

The song of the bird-note, the hum of the bee,
The tinkling of waters, the bursting of leaves,
The perfume of flowers, the blossoming tree,
Are sermons from Nature the pulpit ne'er gives.

My soul sings with these, with these has communion,
They lift me in thought to realms pure and bright;
They speak of a Nature with which to have union
Dispels all my sorrows and gives me delight.

Every sigh of the breeze, every note of wild bird,
Every plant that springs up from earth's fertile sod,
Are sermons of eloquence when rightly heard,
That soothe me and bring me nearer to God.

NATURE'S CHILD.

I would rather dwell with Nature
And be her favored child,
To love plant, tree, and creature
That live in forest wild;
And feel the satisfaction
That I can understand
The beauty and attraction
Of motives, noble, grand,
That fashioned for man's pleasure
This brilliant world of ours,
Than possess the jeweled treasure
Of all earth's kingly powers.

LAKE GEORGE, N. Y.

Beautiful, beautiful Horicon!
Over thy waters so blue,
Sunshine and shadow in silence flit on,
Painting fresh scenes on the ecstatic view.

Blue are the skies that kiss the green tops
Of sentinel mountains grand,
Pure are the waters descending in drops,
Or rushing in torrents from mountain to strand.

Like emerald crowns thy islands rise,
And mirrored back are doubly seen
Gray rocks of the mountains, the cloud-flecked skies,
Gorgeous adornments, and fringe