The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1897-05-08
some Rambling Thoughts.
BY MEMO.

BY MEMO.
The ground beneath our feet is al
ready restless with the thrusting vigor
Of seeds, whose mysterious and resist
less power is compelling the soil to
give up its dead to live again. Our
every footstep is logged with the tire
less tasks of earthworms and insects,
tunneling in all directions that the
soil compacted by the Winters storms
may be In reach OF the llfe-impelling
influences Of air and warmth. Invisi-
Bile energies are crying aloud to the
hillsides and to the valleys, TO the
creatures that hibernate and TO the
birds that migrate, to insects and to
grubs. "Let there be life.n and there
is life, SO peryaslye that though we
fly to the uttermost desert, it is there;
though we bury ourselves in the deep
est mine. il is there.
-
The glory OF green flung suddenly
over sober fields and naked trees, the
fiutter of busy birds twittering and
whistling of love ard defiance, the
subtle odors of flowers and grasses
all unite to thrill the senses, until
the healthy heart is filed with the
same universal joy of living. The
blind can feel the change, and the
deaf can see it; every living thing an
swers the summons. The heart of the
young grows light, for is not the time
OF listening to the birds and OF gath
ering flowers at hand? The sluggish
blood OF the aged courses more freely
again and the deyout heart swells with
gratitude for one more Spring in the
"World Beautiful" Even the room
of the invalid becomes the home of
unseliish pleasure at the thought OF
the merriment and sunshine that fill
the world.
But there Is II message to the rea-
son and an appeal to the soul in spring
time, far transcendiug any gratifica-
tion Of the senses. 1t explains at
once to US the almost delirious joy with
which the season is greeted. What is
it, The real recognition-in one
cases, instructive; but none the less
real--that for the time being life has
triumphed, though the earth TOR
months has lain in the valley of the
Shadow of Death. Life out of death;
victory out Of defeat, new energy fed
by the things that have perished! This
is the Joy note of Spring.
~
Viewed in one way, the gloom and
depression of death is over everything
mundane. 1t is a sad enough picture,
yet needful to remember in order to
gain the full lesson from the new life
now swarming in earth and sky. 1t
is unsafe to assert that there are
things the Almighty cannot do. One
thing, however is certain; He has
never yet made living creature with
a material body that lasts forever. As
soon as the elements of living things
are gathered together the conflict be-
tween life and death begins; with Ill
innate victory completely assured for
the latter. Everything that lives Is a
battle ground for forces that are doing
their best to send it back dissolved
into its original elements. And they
succeed
The Creative Force in the world APP
pears to love living things and to hate
death; If it were not so, why the
tricks and devices for enabling things
that live, though they themselves per-
ish, yet still retain place on earth
through their descendants? The arch
enemy Of all created things may tri-
umph over the individual OF any class,
but he is not triumphant all along the
line, else were this globe long ago a
lifeless desert. Victory is wrested
from death by the various species pass
ing on their life into new beings Of
the same species, or, in other words,
by reproduction. So while the dying
perish, the feud with death is still
maintained by the living who step in
to the breach; they in their turn pass
inc IN IN others the nracions harit,y.
nf Iifa IN he g,arded atali hazards md
entrnsted in nnd;m;nishad force and l
h.autv to those that follow still later
Tho Greatest iov If Snrina IL thoro.
fore, that It is living picture of con-
quest; short-lived triumph indeed,
but yet sweet while it lasts, for there
IL nrenarad From, ite Results tha naxt
oeneyation NJ n1ants and insects and
ANIMALS % that tho world p,ay not no
lifalass Snring now Is INV a1orv,
Crave wbara l. INV v;ctnrvs e'
~
This 10 not tho n,aco for d;scns.
sion az to wbetbar death will ha f,naIlv
driven from o,,r snhara That i 49,
remote q contingencv IN he considersd
~ 49, atsar 49, ~ ~ ~ ss. 49,
tho ONO tha4 hos controi ~ 90, and
mo is that aftar cartain t;wa Iisa
viii caaso 70 anaro;sa nc ana n,,r o,,,
,o;a,,e' t. ~