The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1909-10-17
THE AUTUMN ENCHANTMENT.

From the Springfield Republican
once more the glory of the year Is &C
compiished. The harvest Is ripe and gar
nered of all things. tame and wild-Or II
any field waits IL is but for a brief re-
prieve, for the frosts are due and they
llnger not long beyond the autumnal chill
which forbodes them While yet the
clover blooms in the rowen. while yet
the fringed sentian delights in the swale,
while yet the witch-hazels wrath Of
pale fairy gold CLEANS at the edge Of the
woods, while the song-sparrow hesitates
and delays 70 leave the roadside thicket
while the hickory retains its prisoned
fruit FOR the snatch Of frost. and the
asters and the golden-rods are still beau
tiful in their harmonies-in this mediary
period comes the rare comfort OF the
whole succession OF the seasons. October
is the sole rival OF June.
The glories OF the coming and the
going OF the verdurous life OF earth are
equally wonderful, and they hold their
charm from year TO year. so that there
I is never a time when they are duIled by
repetition. never are they stalled in ef-
feet II is as marvellous 70 see the first
scarlet maple bough IN September as 81
we had never seen one before: II is as
marvellous TO come upon the witch-hazel
/ fragrance. breathing IL rods away from
the bush. as II Il were for the first time.
I Nay, II IS more a matter OF wonder that
such slight matters as a bit OF color a
watt OF odor. shall nnger and appertaln
20 memory year by year, and so unity
our present with our bygone years. These
are OF the links of our Identity. What
we have known. We shall know. and thus
we go on from one sensate life TO an
other
What amazing grace there is in single
memories, that become events IN life,
Small things, It Is thought; but when
I one spies In a sequestered vale. over a
swamp OF aZaleas and roses and blue
berries (Out Of bloOm-aye, out OF fruit}.
the swift dash OF a blue heron. there Is
glory in the earth that was not there
/ before, but that remains for years there
after. II was a glimpse OF holy life that
reveals eternity. How many an inciden-
/ tai flight like this marks a richer beauty
than weeks OF practical life can afford
And also the lesser and more common
I appearances OF the chipmunk. the RED
I squirrel the woodchuck. or the hedge
/ hOg-the cry Of the owl the scream OF
| the hawk over the forest. the fash Of
/ the bluejay in the near valley. the boom.
/ ing fight OF the grouse from the alder
/ thicket--dO not all these revivify the sym
pathy Of earth IN a deep emotion which
cannot be expressed? II is by moments
Of intense beauty that life Is lived. as
much as by the things we do in worldly
| ways.
The divine in life is thus caught and
captured and made part OF the sou
growth. For We must know that while
we are necessarily transient and tenn
porary, the life OF God is constant. IN
ceasing. Increasing. and fulfilling In the
splendor Of the autumn We have a more
satisfying warrant Of Immortality than
In the delicate and tentative elegances
OF spring. They are our promise. but
now we have not only promise but assur-
ance. Now We know that everything IS
I preparing for a future Il Is not death
that is known In the glory OF the trees
I and the wealth Of tone-harmOnies in the
small shrubs and the ferns that blGnch
and bronze with brown and deep orange
In the pastures At the roots OF the ferns
IN the boughs OF tho trees. on every
/ little bush, and at the base OF all the
herbs OF the pastures. there IS the ear
nest OF the next years vitality. This il
is that tells US how God lives in all that
he has made. and which he bestows upon
US IN unending fertility
The skies OF autumn are the most glo-
rfous of the year. Their blue Is more
intense. their clouds are more ethereal
the magnificent sweep OF the grea;
cumuli over the hills-all these have 6
peculiar nobility Of their own. We car
never see more glorious sunrises or sun.
sets than in this time OF the year. Al
Ilusion--yes: but is not the best or life
Illusion? We cannot reduce life TO thu
pragmatic philosophical is still the thing.
that appear that are the influences OF
life. When in a midnight moment We
hear overhead the whistling of migrating
sparrowe or robins. going south, and al
talking at once. we hear them by faith
for we see no birds. This flight of the lii
tie birds IS more impressive than the
honk-honk OF the wild geese. and more
Infinitely delicate. The fall OF our New
England Is a season OF profound en-.
chantment.