Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1873-02-15
The Glory of the Winter.


full time of the year. 1t is. From the
time of the first fragrant breath of
spring, and of the first flock of birds,
clear down to the days of November,
when the trees are stripped of their
foliage. there is not an hour in which
the earth is not robed in beauty. We
often hear people say, "Oh, the dreary
DAYS of November y The days of No
vember are never dreary, though men
often are. There are things in Noyem
ber that make us sad, there are sugges-
tions in November that lead us to seri-
GUS thoughts, but November is not
dreary. 1t makes me sad, but there Is
n sadness that is wholesome, and even
pleasurable. There are some sorrows
that are not painful, but that give
siduancy and flavor to life and such
are the sorrows that November brings.
That month, which sees the year dis
robed, is not dreary month. like to
see the trees with their clothes taken
off. like to see the anatomy of tree.
like to see the preparation which God
makes for winter. How everything is
snuggcd and packed ! How all nature
GETS ready for the cold season Hoy
the leaves heap themselves upon the
roots to protect them from frost ! How
nil things that are tender are taken out
of the way, and only things that are
tough are left to stand the buffetings of
winter November is only sad to me,
and il is n sweet sadness that 1t brings
to NV mind. After that comes Decem-
her. the month of beginning ice, the
month in Which streams are shrOuded,
fine month of SHOWS begun. And then
come January and February, the months
of beauty. Is there anything on earth
so beautiful as the fallen snow? Yes
trees that are turned to crystal as Just
as beautiful The rain that you heard
pattering in the night froze as 1t fell,
and every tree is sheathed and cased
with ice. The glory of the sun Is bean-
ing through the branches and n million
gIittering rays strike your eye; and
with every movement of the wind and
every change of your position the glory
is wonderfully magnifed. What are
chandeliers, what is cut glass, what are
the gew-gaw trinkets that human art
can make, compared with this work
manship of God? And God makes it
for nothing. No door-keeper stands to
tax you for looking upon Gods glory IN
the world. There is no stinginess III
the heavens. The seasons are not mg- |
gardly. The earth is beautifully car
peted. 1t is robed in white. All the
trees are magnifcently oppareled' No
leaves or blossoms ever gave them such
beauty as that in which they are array
ed. And on beholding them in the
morning one seems translated to the
heavenly land, and imagines that he
stands on the sea of glass in that crys-
taline sphere. The illusion would be
complete, if the contact did not bring
one back at the organization OF the
snow. If you will take the trouble to
examine it, it is enough to fill the soul
with wonder and pleasure. The move
ments of it, too, and the shapes which
it assumes as it drifts, are well worthy
of notice. think there are no such
lines and curves in the world MS those
which are formed by the wind in the
snow, which overlap and flow into each
other in every conceivable manner, AMI
which are often to be seen on the sur
face and along the overhanging edges
of drifts. They are careless and grace
full beyond all comparison, and are I'M
surpassed in beauty,-Bcechcr in Her.
MID Of HcnHh