The Washington herald., 1909-08-18
THE SMELL OF THE RAIN.
All nature Senses II and Echoes
Welcome with Outstretched Arms.

All NATURE Senses II and Echoes
Welcome with Outstretched Arms.
From the For Worth Record.
Sweeter than any perfume ever distilled
by the chemist, sweeter than roses or
cape 1essamines, or the scent OF a ripe
grape. sweeter than new mown hay or a
oaby's breath, sweeter than fresh linen
and miladys washed hair. IS the smell
OF the rain
II Is the breath 20 the nostrils exhilara-
ton 10 the lungs. elixir 10 the blood. and
wine 10 the brain. The dusty earth in
hales It and is pulsing again with poten-
tial lfe' the flowers that were painting
are revived. and the very leaves OF the
trees absorb It as incense and are lifted
Up. Hungry, fretful. parched. and com
planning, man opens his mouth and gulps
II down Ike a gormand.
The fading and willing cotton blossom
welcomes Il as a message OF new lie and
the naked OF all the world rejoice in the
hope Of replenished wardrobes. The
growing. grovelng beasts OF the stock
exchange. intent upon the dust and
drought and want Of grim prospect. snin
II and are abashed and tame. Miasmas
OF privation and distress fade away from
II, as the fogs before the sunshine. and
mellow wholesomeness possesses the fields
and permeates the habitaUons OF men.
The grass Of the plains, brown and
withered and dry as stubble, senses II as
the blind and deaf are aware OF the m
seen and unheard approach OF friends
and II steals over the land as the per
fumed herald OF an unforgetting Provl-
6ence.
The very sparrows OF the ground twft-
ter their delight. the songste-s OF the
forest acclaim II with a more liquid mel
ocy' and the mother bird or her nest
whispers rejoicings 20 the brood beneath
her wing The bee that hung DESPAIR
ingly 70 the honey comb flies straight 10
the clover field
1t springs UP Ike a new born presence:
il comes down Ike a benediction An
unseen censer is swung in the air. a ST.
lent baptism is celebrated: the prayer
that was uttered haltingly and half
faithlessly IS answered, and a resurrec-
ton IS realized. What skepticaI inpa-
tient. and unworthy creatures are We.
what malcontents and murmurers. And
how short-sighted is our view OF creation
and reproduction and the eternal scheme
OF life, Six thousand years have taught
Us little, though we know so much OF
the current day and hour. A lifetime
Of bounty, centuries Of progress. and the
recurring cycles OF a perpetual universe
are vain TO impress our poor understand
ing with the truth OF the unfailing and
the everlasting. What know we Of the re-
cessions and professions. the actions and
tho reactions. the energies and the rest
ings OF this old-young earth's large life?
How unmindful we are OF the deep. big
truths which nature has been exhibiting
all these years and generations and cons
Of the upward and advancing march, A
little trial a little hardship, and we are
undone, though the storehouSe Is full and
the fat years are certain 10 return for the
fruitful ground will not belle itself.
But the smell of the rain-one whifr
OF 1t and all repinings are done, and the
way IS shining again. and we are after
the butterflies as eager and as needless
as before
Men are but children OF q larger
growth. and their ears are dried and their
hurts are healed by little kisses which
they st-aightway forget