St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1912-07-06

Tread ct closing exercises OF ot.
Scholastica's Academy
THE BEAUTIES OF NATURE.
(Salutatory by Miss Anna Frederick)
bid you q hearty welcome. A
pleasant task. indeed, it il to well
come you here today, but this event
is associated not only with its drops
of bitterness as every event IL, but 1t
contains its pals of NORWOOD, for
only yesterday we saw, cold in death,
one of our revered nuns. Blessed
are they who die in the Lord. there
fore We have no reasons to regret
her death, but rather should we re-
joice at the fact that at least f~v
of human kind appreciate God in His
infinite generosity by obeying his
laws in youth and in maturity. Such
q beautiful death is but the echo Of I
beautiful, we'll spent life, hence her
death is to be envied rather than
regretted. But to divert your at
tention l turn to the all absorbing
subject Of to-day's programme by
repeating with our poet OF nature,
Bryant:
ITO him who in the love of nature
holds
Communion with her visible forms
she speaks
A various language"
Though her language is but seldom
understood, her rebukes, her warn
ings are not needed. We are so &C
customed to beautiful surroundings
that we are needless Of its grandeur
All nature is re-echoing Gods prais-
es, obeying his all just commands,
while man, His master-work. rushes
ON daring to, yea, to defy God and
His DEGREES.
To the learned~an observant each
tiny blade of grass holds within it
some hidden charms, every modest
flower calls out to him to heed her
lesson. every tree, every heast or
bird, has a message to whisper to
him and when he gazes upon the
wide expanse before him viewing all
as one vast picture, he is overcome
with awe of their Creator and with
their warnings to do his duty. In
everything he finds beauty and in
terest for only such as these appreci-
ate nature in her manifold beauty,
in her bees and butterflies, her flow
ers and trees, her mountains and her
valleys, her dales and rivulets, all
tend to expand his heart with rich
delight.
Whether we gaze upwards or down.
wards, to the east or the west, there
our eyes meet some object of beauty,
some inspiring spectacle presents
itself to our sight and If We are cap
able of approaching our surround
ings we could not fail to be impress
ed. If we are observant and intui-
tive we shall see and comprehend
many hidden beauties in every object
of nature.
Flowers and trees elicit every
body's admiration, but the natural
list sees far below the surface and
enjoys the hidden qualifications of
their growth and structure, he can
marvel at the wonders that are oper-
ating in each tiny leaf, in every burst
ing bud and in every whitening limb.
forms is one of the most interesting
and attractive of all natures gifts
but who can describe the magnifi-
cence of the every day sky? Its soft
azure tints relieved by sparkling,
feecy clouds can be enjoyed every
day, and when nights goddess ex-
tends her leadin sceptre over the
slumbering universe, she does not
shut out the beauties of the day sky,
but with her magic touch she sets
forth thousands of bright eyed sub
jects to light our earthly dwelling
place.
Beautiful are the descriptions THAI
gifted minds have beQueathed to
their posterity, about the rising and
the setting sun, yet what failures
have they made for If one who reads
those word-painted pictures had
never been an eyewitness what
would be his feeling on awakening
before an autumn sunset? And SO
with all other attempts made by the
minds of man. They are failures
when compared with nature in her
lovely state of originality.
Now what is the lesson for man?
How must he regard his beautiful
environment? Not as a place of
dwelling but simply as wayside
inn where he may rest while travel
ing on to q home of incompatible
beauty. The delight of this life, of
this earth will vanish and decay but
there are beauties that shall never
fade, shall never vanish from our
wandering gaze. Therefore, all ma
ture cries out to us praise, adore and
|serve thy Creator.
q