Oh, morning in the country is a
glorious thing, and it is impossible when one rises and walks forth
and surveys the scene not to exclaim, 'God is good.'
"Oh, that early hour has health, vigour, and cheerfulness in it. How
natural it seems to me, how familiar I am with everything it
indicates! The dew tells me there will be no showers, the white frost
warns me of its approach; and if that does not arrive in time, the sun
instructs me to notice and remember, that if it rises bright and clear
and soon disappears in a cloud, I must prepare for heavy rain. The
birds and the animals all, all say, 'We too are cared for, and we have
our foreknowledge, which we disclose by our conduct to you." The
brooks too have meaning in their voices, and the southern sentinel
proclaims aloud, 'Prepare.' And the western, 'All is well.'"
Oh, how well I know the face of nature! What pleasure I take as I
commence my journey at this hour, to witness the rising of the mist in
the autumn from the low grounds, and its pausing on the hill-tops, as
if regretting the scene it was about to leave! And how I admire the
little insect webs, that are spangled over the field at that time; and
the partridge warming itself in the first gleam of sunshine it can
discover on the road! The alder, as I descend into the glen, gives me
notice that the first frost has visited him, as it always does, before
others, to warn him that it has arrived to claim every leaf of the
forest as its own.
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