The Voice Of Nature.

THE VOICE OF NATURE .

BY SAVARICUS . THE voice of nature always speaketh to the heart of man , the lovely flowers , the rustling leaves , the rippling brooks , the verdant plains , the aged rocksthe gentle breezethe furious galethe summer showerthe pelting rain

, , , , , the lightning ' s flash , the thunder ' s peal , the stars of night , the silvery moon , sunshine and clond , earth , sea , ancl sky , speak with the " still small voice " that penetrates the soul , bringing joy and fear , but withal admiration . Happy the man who rightly interprets the various sights and sounds of nature , and feels that all the infinite changes involved in the metamorphoses are but the language of the Eternalpointing out the beautythe harmony

, , , and the sublimity of the Creation . Often what appears to most of us as simple natural process is ( when fully understood by such aid as the microscope affords ) seen to be a most elaborate and wonderful work , marvellous in conception , beautiful in construction , felicitous in development , ancl magnificent in design . Iu the wings of insects , in the leaves of plants , as well as in the unknown myriads of stars

that form the " milky way , the Omnipotence of the First Great Cause is for ever illustrated . Among men there are' those , unhappily , ignorant of nature ' s underlying wonders ancl beaut y , ancl whose selfish ideas of their own importance make them feel as if their existence is the one great fact of life , all important to the welfare of the community ; such as these utterl y ignore the insignificance of the human unit , and to them the pleasures afforded by nature ' s boundless scope , variety , ancl charm is lost . On the other hand , the student and the scientist , seeking after truth , revels in revelations so

exquisitely grand that he feels exalted in one sense ancl humbled in another , losing his own individualit y in that fierce li ght of natural . love which dawns on his enraptured soul as he beholds the glories of the Universe . Does nature speak to him ? Yes ; her teachings are full of joy ancl of promise . His privileged communings are to him a foretaste of better things to come , an opening up of bygone ages , making " a thousand years as a day , " blending the Past with the Presentanticipating and predicting the Futureclearing the

, , understanding , bringing forth knowledge , ancl promoting happiness . The great aim of life should be to be natural ; man does not excel in this respect . The object of some , nay , most of us , may be termed supernatural ; men having thoughts strangely at variance with their acts , and yet expecting miracles to happen for their especial benefit , or rather that they may indulge in various propensities and suffer no harm , i . e ., commit physical transgressions with

impunity . I believe it was Voltaire who said that he " often thanked God he was not a physician . " When asked why , he said , "Physicians I consider to be the most unfortunate men alive ; they are required to perform miracles every day , ancl what is more , are expected to reconcile health with intemperance . " In such eases we have the unnatural taking the place of the natural . Nature has given us a bountiful supplof water which meets

y every requirement as a beverage ; then again , milk is a natural product , ancl supplies us with both food and drink combined in the highest state of perfection , being at the same time a delicacy eminently fitted for the human family at all periods , from infancy to old age . What more can mankind want ?