Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 August 1876 — "Tongues in Trees; Books in Running Brooks; Sermons in Stones; and Good in Everything." [ARTICLE]

"Tongues in Trees; Books in Running Brooks; Sermons in Stones; and Good in Everything."

BY MISS MATIK HOWARD.

“Nature never did betray the heart that >: loved lief. ’Tis her privilege through all the years of this our life To lead from joy to joy; for she can so inform the mind That is within us, so impress with quietness and beauty’, And so feed with ltrfty thoughts, that neither evil tongues, Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men, , Can e’er prevail against us, or disturb our cheerful faith That all which wo behold is. full of blessings;” can e’er disquiet our trust in one who scatters o’er the broad earth the monuments of his boundless love for us. Monuments how grand! nnd vet, how unnoticed, and many times *even scoYqed as such! What treasures of knowledge and gems of wisdom are contained within their walls, and how few of those for whom they were intended have ever sought to unlock the precious Btores! Forgetting the mere toilsome scenes of life, leaving self and selfishness far behind we go forth into the forest’s shady retreat, and, jjeariug the golden keys of belief

Wnd hope, we apply them to the <]oor of Nature’s heart, anil she pours forth her most precious secrets, which swell thp heart with delight, and inspire the mind with higher aims and nobler motives. WiJo has not, while holding con-1 verse with the inanimate world, felt a secret longing creep in ,and take possession of his soul .to be truer and better? And who has: not sometimes felt lifted above the petty vexations of life, into a purer, sweeter realm, in whose boundless ether floated the atmosphere of love and devotion? Sucli is the influence breathed forth when Nature’s precious storehouse is opened; and her kindly words, if heeded, would lead mankind in paths ot pleasantness. Even the gnarled and bent oak, which peers from beneath the over hanging branches of its more sturdy companions, lias its word of warning. It whispers that if man would mount high the rugged steep of intelligence and fame, if he would stand among those whom the world calls her heroes, if he would see his name scrolled with those of DaVv, Newton and Shakespeare he must not seek reiuge from the storms of ignorance in the wisdom of his companions; but, by earnest endeavor and patient perseverance, must struggle out of the darknes#; must assume such a position that his intellect shall not bo blinded, neither sustained alone by reflected rays lrom the great sun of knowlodgfc; that if he would not have his life droop earthward he must not conceal within dark recesses the moral and spiritual elements of his nature, but must nourish and feed them witja .the sun li£ht of God’s love. Where may we learn more beautiful and impressive lessons of patience and perseverance than frotn tho lofty forest king? Learn the history of its life; how it statted a tender,, delicate sprout, each year put forth new branchlets and leaflets, and struggled higher toward the sunlight of heaven; how, each autumn, -when its leaves Were changed to scarlet and gold—gorgeous b.itt useless —it showered them upon the ground, and each spring came forth clothed in a fresher and

brighter vesture, the delight of all who knew it. Year after year it toiled on in the same quiet, secret channels, never tiring or despairing, though oft it was tempted to yield at the sweep of the blast, and to give up its threatened life into the frigid hand of Winter; it sent its rootlets still deeper into the boson) of the earth to gether warmth, and ’.‘win the soil that fain would be unkind, to swell its revenues with proud increase,” and now, though oft the fruits of Winter were imposed upon its naked; boughs, and oft piercing Boreas has mocked its humility, it rejoices over the victory and stands defiant in the wintry gales. What a glorious lesson to humanity! It advances our ideal to oiie who “rooted iu the earth, fed by its soil, and watered by its springs,” uses these as but stepping stone? into the spiritual realm above him; whoso life ever grows heavenward; whose heart, though acquainted with sin and temptation, ever grows firmer in the truth; whose; aims evir ascend higher; and who year sheds old opinions, false notions and cowardly superstitions, and assumes newer and truer ideas of life, humanity and God; one who,-from frequent converse with life’s wintry storms, learns to clasp more firrtvly the purpose of his life, and through his deep-rooted fatch and* oaken will “compels front the pinched soil of churlish Fate the sap o.f sturdier growth.’’ To put in words all. tho silent eloquence of the trees, all* the lessons of beauty, synintetry and secret labor, would consume volumes; hut not the trees alone possess this power of eloquence. Ail nature iu whatever form and howeyer low and miserable speaks, a language, which, as does every, language, requires study to understand and become familiar with it.

Do we find in the_ little brook anything better than the .mere delight of watching its crystal waters gurgle over its stony bed, or its riple*ts dance when a pebble is cast on its bosom, or the soothing relief it affords the parched lip and burning brow? Aye, if we look deeper we may find volumes, which are the keyß to the hidden chambers ot success, fortune and fame. Hear a sketch from one. “O, man! thou art lord and master of all Nature’s lower orders; dost command at thy will the so-called elements; thou art so liberally endowed and so highly exalted, yet do not scorn to learn of thy subordinates; take my simple lesson and may it cheer and help thee. If thou art mean and insignificant in thine own sight, art discouraged and jtick at heart, establish a high and worthy purpose in life and exercise all thy powers, honestly, to roach it. If temptations lie in thy pathway, do not let them drag .'thee down and chain thee in their power; pass them; leave them behind. If obstacles loom up before thee to prevent thy progress, surmount them and onward toward the goal. JJut be not 100 firm : if circumstances will not always bend to thy will, yield for tlie time, but as far as belli in thy power let them not change thy course. Thou canst swell and purify the current of society, and if thou faint not will sometime realize the bright visions of thy youth. If thou wouldsl have the confidence of thy fellow man, be honest frank and trust” This and many other beautiful and instructive lessons are written in the depths ot its narrow bed.

Wc are too prone to deem only those objeo»s of nature grand and beautiful which arc lofty,' and to which we must lift our eyes—the cloud capped inountajjn, the mighty cataract, the everehanging, fleecy queen of tho air—while we tread upon no less wondrous works of the same Author; In the little fiiuten. at our feet we behold the type of beauty and pleasure, and in the hoifr'iiesi stone we find the emblem

of permanence, strength, and durability. As the clay is washed scratched or printed, so will the stone be marred throughout the ages; and as onr characters when plastic are moulded and shaped, so willour lives be. If they be cast into the mould of usefulness, and thn evil impressions be washed away ere they become fixed indelibly, then will our lives, if founded upon the Rock of Ages, be beautiful and uaeful.

Let no man say this is a “vale of tears” or a “wilderness of woe,’ T that there is no pleasure to be gleaned- in traversing the beaten path from birth to death: that there is nothing good or noble iii humanity, auAjno guerdon for the toils and trials of this life. It any suoh there be, let him look again; “there are hidden beauties which must be sought for, there are countless bowers behind the brambles;” let him tear aside the thorny stems of cbldness, rashness, and selfishness, and behold the precious fruits of truth, sincerity and love. Let him also look inward, through the depths of his own soul, and, ere ho passes, judgment on, God’s works and plans, be assnPed he is competent to censure: lei,him by word and deed prove himseli the happy possessor of--*the spirit he deems so lacking In'the rest of mankind, and endeavor to enthuse into the great heart ot humanity the influence of such a spirit; and ere he has labored long he will hear re-‘ spondirtg In sweet harmony a sympathetic chord from every human breast; he will find that man was not tdtally depraved, but that the goodness and nobleness of others lay buried bCHeath the ashes of his own selfishness and coldness; that in every heart there is a germ of love which; if nourished by sympathy and trust, will yield a golden harvest; he will learn ..that life is not in living, but in working; and realizing this, will soon catch and swelLtlije strain of adoration which ascends fromearth-toheaven; he will the 'beauty jtb&ut him, and will seek, find and appropriate the good that lies in everything.