Omaha daily bee., 1909-09-04
LIKES THE SMELL OF RAIN
End of n Dry Spell Turns the
Faucets of a Prose
Poet.

End of n Dry Spell Turns the
Faucets of a Prose
Poet.
Sweeter than any perfume ever distilled
by the chemist, sweeter than roses or cane
~jessamines, or the scent OF a ripe grape,
sweeter than fresh linen and mllady's
washed hair, is the smell Of the rain.
1t Is the breath to the nostrils, exhilara-
ton to the lungs, elixir to the blood, ana
wine to the brain. The dusty earth in
hales 1t and IS pulsing again with poten-
tial life; the flowers that were painting are
revived. and the very leaves of the trees
absorb It as incense and are lifted up.
Hungry, fretful, parehed, and complain
ing, man opens his mouth and gulps II
down like a gormRnd.
The fading and willing cotton blossom
welcomes 1t as a message Of new life, and
the naked of all the world rejoice In the
hope Of replenished wardrobes. The
growing, groveling beasts of the stock ex-
change, intent upon the dust and drouth
and want Of grim prospect, sniff 1t and,
are abashed and tame. Miasmas Of pri-
walton and distress fade away from It, as
the fogs before the sunshine, and mellow
wholesomeness possesses the fields and
permeates the inhabitants of men.
Thu grass Of the plains, brown and with
cred and dry as stubble, senses It as the
blind and deaf are aware Of the unseen
and unheard approach OF friends, and It
steals over the land as the perfumed her
aid Of an unforgetting Providence.
The very sparrows Of the ground twit-
ter their delight, the songsters of the for
est acclaim It with a more liquid melody.
and the mother bird on her nest whispers
TAfol14nea A. A.. 49, -
The bee that hung despairingly to the
honey comb flies straight to the clover
field.
1t springs up like a new born presence;
II comes down like a benediction. An uu-
seen censor lie swung In the air; a silent
baptism is celebrated; the prayer that was
uttered haitingiy and half-faithlessly Is
answered, and a resurrection is realized.
What skeptical, impatient, and unworthy
creatures are we; what maicontents and
murmurersl And how short-sighted is sur
view Of creation and reproduction and the
eternal scheme of lifei Six thousand years
have taught us little, though we know 80
much Of the current day and hour. A life
time Of bounty, centuries of progress, and
the recurring cycles Of a perpetual uni
verse are vain to impress our poor under
@ 49, 80 - ~ AAAeAAAA
and the everlasting. What know we OF
the reoesslons and PROFESSIONS, the actions
and the reactions, the energies and the
restings of this old-youns earth's large
life? How unmindful We are Of the deep,
big truths which nature has been exhibit
ing all these years and generations and
cons OF the upward and advancing march,
A little trial, q little hardship, and we are
undone, though the storehouse is full and
the fat years are certain TO return for the
fruitful ground will not belle itself.
But the smell of the rain-one whiff of
It and all rspinings 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 a larger growth,
and their tears are dried and their hurts
are healed by little kisses which they
~straightway forget-Fort Worth Record.