X- KM ft A CHAPTER FROM THE HAST THOU ENTERED INTO THE TREASURES OF THE SNOW? JOB mviii. 22. " Acquaint thyself with God, if thou wouldst taate His works. Admitted once to his embrace, Thou shall perceive that thou wast blind before ; Thine eye shall be instructed ; and thine heart, Made pure, shall relish with divine delight, Till then unfelt, what hands divine have wrought." COWPIB. PUBLISHED BY THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, No. 28 CORNHILL, BOSTON. Entered according lo Act of Congress, in the year 1863, by THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. GEO. C. BAND (t AVERT, BRIEF article on Snow-flakes, in one of the peri- odicals published by the American Tract Society in the winter of 1862-3, accompanied by a cut exhibiting some of their forms, elicited from its readers many expressions of interest, and suggested the preparation of a book on this curious but generally little-known subject. The beautiful forms of many of the snow-crystals were observed and sketched more than a century ago. The Transactions of the Royal Society of London, for 1755, contain representations of ninety-one varieties, with descrip- tions by Dr. Nettis. Captain William Scoresby, the emi- nent English navigator, has given, in his Arctic Regions, drawings of ninety-six varieties. More recently, numerous specimens, with accompanying descriptions, have been given PREFACE. to the public by James Glaisher, Esq., of Lewisham, Eng- land. It is from these sources, chiefly, that the figures here exhibited have been derived. It has been no part of our design, in this work, to enter into any scientific statements concerning the snow- flakes, or the laws of their formation. A brief general description of them is all that has been attempted. Yet the reader should not, from this, infer that there is any question respecting the truthfulness of the sketches. The drawings were originally made with scientific precision, and have been carefully copied. A few simple figures at the top of page 11 are designed to show the primary geo- metrical forms under which the snow-vapor crystallizes. With that exception, they are all representations of indi- vidual crystals, actually observed and sketched with the aid of the microscope. It is proper to add, however, that these representations are highly magnified, especially those on the last two or three plates. The real size of the crystals observed by Scoresby varied from one thirty-fifth to one-third of an inch in diameter. Dr. Nettis remarks : " The natural size of most of the shining, quadrangular particles, and of the lit- tle stars of snow, as well the simple as the more compound PREFACE. ones, does not exceed the twentieth part of an inch." The dimensions 'as well as form of the crystals seem to depend upon the amount of vapor in the atmosphere, the temper- ature, and other circumstances not easy to specify. We may be permitted to express the hope that many of our readers will examine for themselves these beautiful productions of nature. In our own climate, the " treasures of the snow" are open to all who choose to explore themj and there can scarcely be an amusement more entertaining, and at the same time instructive, than that of observing and sketching these delicate crystals. No expensive or complicated apparatus is needed for this purpose. A good microscope is the chief requisite; besides which, a pair of dividers and a rule will be sufficient. We subjoin a state- ment from Mr. Glaisher of his own mode of making his examinations. " For the information of those who would carefully ob- serve snow-crystals, I may remark that my own plan of procedure is to expose a thick surface of plate-glass on the outer side of the window, resting on the ledge. Seated within the room, I am enabled, with comparative comfort, and at my leisure, to make my drawings and record my ob- servations, the accuracy of which I am able to verify to my PREFACE. satisfaction, as the crystal received upon the cold surface of the glass, itself several degrees below freezing, remains a sufficient length of time for the requirements of the ob- server. In many cases, it becomes frozen to the glass, and is thus secured from the influence of the wind, which not unfrequently snatches away some most intricate form from the desiring eye of the observer." If this work shall be the means of introducing any of our readers to the knowledge of this interesting depart- ment of the Creator's works, and eliciting those sentiments of admiration and reverence which his wonder-working power should inspire in every beholder, it will not have been issued in vain. I. P. W. BOSTON, 1863. 1. ST-TOAV STRUCTURE, , ,-, 13 a. UNITY I?* DIVERSITY, , 23 3 Jt TC Jv J* iii O X? I C) ^r , .31 4. PURITY, 41 o. OR A.C E, 51 6. BEAUTY, 63 CONTENTS. 7. AVKA-ICNES S, 9. G-LA.DJSTKSS, 2. INSTRUCTION-, 75 101 115 125 1 39 G\ [tnulur iji saitb to the Snofo, ge than on ibt htt of Ibt arib |ob 3Z : 8. the watery vapors in the atmosphere are in sufficient quantities to be precipitated to the earth, and at the same time their temperature is at or below the freezing point, their parti- cles unite, but not as fluid drops. In approaching each other they arrange themselves in regular figures, called crystals. The va- rious forms of these may be grouped into three gen- eral classes. 1. Prismatic, having three or six sides, usually the latter (page 11, figs. 2, 4). Scoresby compares the finest specimens of these to " white hairs cut into lengths not exceeding a quarter of an inch." SNOW-FLAKES. 2. Pyramidal, either triangular or hexagonal (figs. 5, 6). They are exceedingly small, being only one- thirtieth of an inch in hight. 3. Lamellar, consisting of thin and flat plates, some of them stelliform, having six points radiating from a center (fig. 11), and some hexagonal (page 21, fig. 1). Both these species are in infinite abun- dance, and of all sizes, from the smallest speck to one-third of an inch in diameter. These three leading forms are endlessly combined, and give rise to innumerable varieties, from the sim- plest to the most complex. Pyramids are mounted on prisms, at one or both ends (page 11, figs. 7, 8) ; prisms are united in one star-like figure, like spokes of a wheel (fig. 10), and both are joined with plates in all conceivable forms of beauty and diversity. The specimens shown throughout our series of en- gravings illustrate these. The plates themselves are complex, showing within their outer boundaries white lines, which divide them into triangles, stars, hexagons, and other regular figures. Some plates are transparent, others opaque (page 21, fig. 13). When the prisms are combined with plates, it is generally in the same plane, but sometimes the for- mer are set perpendicularly to the surfaces of the 14 SNOW STRUCTURE. latter (page 29, figs. 18, 19, 20, 21). These singular figures resemble a wheel with its axle. Scoresby says that on one occasion, snow of this kind fell upon the deck of his ship to the depth of three or four inches ! In some instances the central plate has little prisms or spines projecting from it like hairs, on one or both sides, at an angle of sixty degrees. Sometimes, in- stead of a plate, the central part is a little rough mass like a hailstone, bristling with spines, somewhat resembling a chestnut-bur. Much attention has been given to the meteorolog- ical conditions of the atmosphere during the fall of snow, to ascertain in what circumstances the differ- ent varieties of crystals are produced. Nothing very definite, however, is discoverable in this respect. The general facts are thus summed up by Mr. Scoresby: "When the temperature of the air is within a degree or two of the freezing point, and much snow falls, it frequently consists of large, irreg- ular flakes, such as are common in Britain. Some- times it exhibits small granular, or large rough, white concretions ; at others it consists of white spiculae, or flakes composed of coarse spiculae, or rude, stellated crystals formed of visible grains. But in severe i 15 ^ SNOW-FLAKES. frosts, though the sky appears perfectly clear, lamel- lar flakes of snow of the most regular and beautiful forms are always seen floating in the air and spark- ling in the sunbeams; and the snow which falls in general is of the most elegant texture and appear- ance." Of the hidden causes which originate these beauti- ful productions, nothing whatever is known. Some have imagined that they are to be found in the forms of the primal atoms of water, which are assumed to be triangles or hexagons, and which, therefore, unit- ing by their similar sides or edges, must give rise to crystals of regular forms. Others find the solution in magnetic or electrical affinities, which are sup- posed to require the particles to unite by some law of polar attraction. But even if these theories were demonstrated, they would explain nothing. Why the particles must unite in these particular methods, or what is the nature of attraction itself, no man knows. It is sufficient to say, with the learned and devout navigator who has done most to make us acquainted with these beautiful objects, " Some of the general varieties in the figures of the crystals may be re- ferred to the temperature of the air ; but the partic- ular and endless modifications of similar classes of Of SNOW STRUCTURE. crystals can only be referred to the will and pleasure of the great First Cause, whose works, even the most minute and evanescent, and in regions the most remote from human observation, are altogether admirable." Snow is formed in the higher regions of our atmos- phere. It is the wild, raging water of the ocean, the gentle rill of the mountains, the beautiful lake, and the vilest pond on earth, all taxed and made to con- tribute at the bidding of their Lord to this depart- ment of his treasure-house. They send up their tribute in the finest particles of moisture ; the steady contribution coming up from all parts of the globe indiscriminately. No matter what king claims the fields and rivers and mountains to minister to his wants, our God makes them all fill his treasury. The vapor comes up like gold, in grains and nuggets. It must be cast into the King's furnace and formed into his coin, before he can use it. Now tell me how he makes snow out of vapor. You can answer it in one sentence, by diminishing the heat. Easily said; but who can do it? A profound philosopher, in re- s ~~ 17 ~ SNOW-FLAKES. marking on the magnificent glacial phenomenon of January, 1845, when for eight days there was one of the most wonderful displays of the effects of cold per- haps ever witnessed in our latitude, when the earth and every twig seemed covered with diamonds, says of it, " Job speaks of the balancing of the clouds as among the mysteries of ancient philosophy. But how much nicer the balancing and counter-balancing of the complicated agencies of the atmosphere, in order to bring out this glacial miracle in full perfection ! What wisdom and power short of infinite could have brought it about ? " It is equally appropriate to ask, What but infinite power could produce all the agen- cies and instruments needed in creating one flake of snow ? The tiny creature says, as you examine it, The hand that made me is divine I " Kirk. 18 SNOW STRUCTURE. The First Snow. LOVE to watch the first soft snow, As it slowly saileth down, Purer and whiter than the pearls That grace a monarch's crown; Though winter wears a freezing look And many a surly frown. It lighteth like the feathery down Upon the naked trees, And on the pale and withered flowers That swing in every breeze ; And they are clothed in such bright robes As summer never sees. It bringeth pleasant memories The falling, falling snow Of neighing steeds, and jingling bells, In the happy long ago, When hopes were bright, and health was good, And the spirits were not low. And it giveth many promises Of quiet joys in store, SNOW-FLAKES. Of bliss around the blazing hearth When daylight is no more, Such bliss as nowhere else hath lived Since the Eden days were o'er. God bless the eye that views, with mine, The falling snow to-day; May Truth her pure white mission spread Before its searching ray, And lead, with dazzling garments, toward The " strait and narrow way." Julia H. Scott. Pcboan. , o'er all the dreary North-land, Mighty Peboan, the Winter, Breathing on the lakes and rivers, Into stone had changed their waters ; From his hair he shook the snow-flakes Till the plains were strewn with whiteness, One uninterrupted level, As if, stooping, the Creator With his hand had smoothed them over. j Longfellow. 20 (it orb Ijatb |s foag in % fobirlfcrinb nnb in tbt storm. Itabunt 1 : 3. BEDIENCE to law is apparent in all the works of the Creator. However varied or complicated their structure, however intri- cate their motions, however B^S. multiform their aspects, there is an all-wise design pervading them, a clue running through all diversities, and re- ducing all to unity arid harmony in the grand scheme of the universe. The Lord hath his way in them all ; and that is the single line of right- eousness and beneficence. Amid the endless varieties of the snow crystals a singular law of unity is apparent. It is the angle of sixty degrees, or some multiple of it. This is one- sixth of the complete circle ; hence the hexiform or i 23 ' SNOW-FLAKES. six-sided configuration of its prisms and plates. It is curious to glance over the patterns which we exhibit, and trace the operations of this law. Let the con- gealing vapor assume what fantastic shapes it will, let it riot in the profusion of its beautiful efflorations, yet it can never escape the control of that central attraction which binds them all in one. Hence their name, flakes, i. e., flocks ; the fleecy crystals, though spreading abroad each in its utmost individual lib- erty, being still retained within one ownership and belonging to one fold. Like this law of unity in nature is God's great law of love in his moral realm. It is the principle of order and harmony throughout his intelligent uni- verse. God's own nature is love, and it reigns among all the shining ranks of heaven. And in the numberless worlds which fill immensity, and through the utmost variety of capacities and grades of beings, it needs but the fulfillment of this law to secure uni- versal joy. Love is the one principle which binds all individuals and provinces of his rational kingdom to each other, and each to his throne. One great law of crystallization controls the whole snow world. Every flake has a skeleton as distinct 24 UNITY IN DIVERSITY. as the human skeleton, and yet the individual flake is as different from its neighbor as man is from his. The fundamental law of the snow is to crystallize in three, or some multiple of three. All its angles must be sixty, or one hundred and twenty. All its prisms and pyramids must be triangular or hexag- onal; whether spicular, or pyramidal, or lamellar, it ever conforms to its own great law of order, and thus conveys delight to the eye, and most delight to him who, having pleasure in the works of God, searches them out. Some men reproach the Protestant Church for its various sects. But let such men examine God's works. Unity in variety is the law of the snow. There is a Trinity in it. Every snow-flake imitates its Creator by being three in one. It has a stern basis of fundamental doctrine ; and it would excom- municate any snow-flake that tried to stand on any other. But around that fundamental unity is the free play of individual peculiarities. All snow-flakes are alike essentially, while probably no two are iden- tical in details. 25 SNOW-FLAKES. The Snow Shower. i-TILL falling, falling, falling fast, These messengers have come at last, All floating through the chilly air, On softest pinions, white and fair, Each like a dove with downy breast, High fluttering o'er its icy nest. So coming, coming, coming still From heaven, what daily blessings fill Life's chalice with full many a joy, Which Time's cold hand can not destroy ; So pure, so holy at their birth, They sweetly charm the ills of earth. Upon my heart, when lone and still, As freely may pure gifts distill, Awakening strains of sweetest peace, Whose melody shall never cease, Till, far beyond the reach of time, They swell heaven's harmony sublime. Drown. 26 UNITY IN DIVERSITY. To a Snow-Flake. HOU rain-drop, snow-crystalled, most fragile and fair ! Borne from the far cloud-land and fashioned in air, i What measures befit thee ? Some song of the spheres Should chant out thy praise, with the swift-rolling years. Like a gem cast in setting from heaven's bright floor, Thou art pure, and all perfect, like the One we adore. Three stars make thy glory, the mystical sign Of the Three named in heaven. One Spirit Divine ! I behold thee afar, lest a warm human touch, And the breath of my singing, with praise over-much, Should make thee to perish, thy grace disappear, And thy soft beauty vanish, dissolved in a tear. Like thee I have come from a realm far away, And like thee I shall live but a brief mortal day. Like thee I shall find neither haven nor rest, And descend like thee, once, to the Earth's frozen breast But thou shalt move onward, completing God's will Through the courses of Nature, thy round to fulfill ; 27 8NOW-FL* A drop in the river a flake mid the snows A gleam in the rainbow the dew on the rose. Then go, little snow-flake ! I prize thee not less, That our paths must divide, and I onward must press ; For I must mount upward yet higher and higher, Nevermore to descend with heart-baffled desire ; For the light of God's Being is kindled in mine, And my soul in his presence for ever must shine, Where the purest snow-crystal looks tarnished and dim, By the white jasper walls; where the saints' choral hymn Floats up day and night through the fair golden street, God's praise on their lips, and their crowns at his feet, Exchanging Earth's crosses, the frost and the blight, The snows of the valley, and mists of the night, The brightest earth-blossoms, all the world can afford, For Sharon's red rose, and the smile of the Lord. 8. D. c. Iforb, Snofa anb Sapors, fnlfilling Ins focrb. |}salm 148 : 8. STRIKING characteristic of the snow crystal is its perfection of form. Whatever be the type of ^ its structure, that type is com- pleted with the utmost regular- ity and nicety. Every angle is of the prescribed size, not a degree more or less. The num- T< ber of parts is uniform. You will never see a star with five rays, nor seven. With a precision which art would strive in vain to excel, the pattern is carried out in detail with the most exact symmetry, and in the most nicely-adjusted proportions. It is so in every snow-crystal, unless broken or otherwise injured. G-od has no show specimens in his 31 SNOW-FLAKES. cabinets, elaborately finished, while the mass of them are left imperfect. There are no obscure corners, no back apartments, where the half-formed, ill-shapen, abortive portions of his work are gathered, out of sight. The tiniest speck that is lost in the countless multitudes that robe the earth is as perfect as if the skill of the Creator had been expended upon this alone. The flake that falls in the vast polar solitudes, where no eye of man will ever see it, or that plunges to instant death in the ocean, is wrought with as much care and fidelity as if it were to sparkle in a regal crown. If there be apparent exceptions to this general statement, they are only apparent, and even these confirm the fact. In ordinary storms, large portions of the flakes are broken, sometimes reduced almost to shapeless dust. Often the flakes, coming in contact with each other, adhere, and constitute masses which are very irregular. Sometimes, however, this union gives rise to regular forms, as twelve-pointed stars, which are believed to be two hexagons, the one of them overlapping the other. (Page 11 fig. 22, 23.) A few cases have been observed where a ray or point of a star has become the germinating center of a twin or parasitic star, forming together a structure anoma- L I r 82 ~" PERFECTION. Ions as a whole, though regular in each of its indi- vidual parts. (Page 99 fig. 2.) This universal perfection of figure results from the constancy and uniformity of the laws which govern the process of crystallization. But it is not too much to go beyond these, and behold a Divine mind which loves beauty for its own sake, and delights to sow it broadcast throughout creation. Though there be no human eye to behold and to admire, they will not therefore be unbeheld. It is not true that " Full many a flower is born to blush unseen, And waste its sweetness on the desert air." The universe is fuU of conscious intelligence, from him who is the " Father of lights," downward through endless ranks of being, and the hymn of admiring praise perpetually ascends to him for the perfection and glory of his works. Obey God. His laws to the snow-flake are de- signed to make it beautiful and useful. So are his laws to you. He tells the flake to put on such a form and go to such a place, and it goes without murmur- ing or reluctance. Obey God, and you will put on the beauty of holiness and bless the world. Kirk. SNOW-FLAKES. The ^mow-Flake. , if I fall, will it be my lot To be cast in some low and lonely spot, To melt, and to sink unseen and forgot? And there will my course be ended ? " 'Twas thus a feathery snow-flake said, As down through measureless space it strayed, Or as, half by dalliance, half afraid, It seemed in mid-air suspended. " Oh, no ! " said the earth ; " thou shalt not lie Neglected and lone on my lap to die, Thou pure and delicate child of the sky ; For thou wilt be safe in my keeping. But then, I must give thee a lovelier form ; Thou wilt not be a part of the wintry storm, But revive, when the sunbeams are yellow and warm, And the flowers from my bosom are peeping ! " And then thou shalt have thy choice, to be Restored in the lily that decks the lea, In the jessamine bloom, the anemone, Or aught of thy spotless whiteness; To melt, and be cast, in a glittering bead, With the pearls that the night scatters over the mead, In the cup where the bee and the fire-fly feed, Regaining thy dazzling brightness. 34 PERFECTION. " I'll let thee awake from thy transient sleep, When Viola's mild blue eye shall weep, In a tremulous tear; or, a diamond, leap In a drop from the unlocked fountain; Or, leaving the valley, the meadow, and heath, The streamlet, the flowers, and all beneath, Go up, and be wove in the silvery wreath Encircling the brow of the mountain. " Or, wouldst thou return to a home in the skies, To shine in the Iris, I'll let thee arise, And appear in the many and glorious dyes A pencil of sunbeams is blending; But true, fair thing, as my name is Earth, I'll give thee a new and a vernal birth, When thou shalt recover thy primal worth, And never regret descending." " Then I will drop ! " said the trusting flake ; " But bear it in mind that the choice I make, Is not in the flowers nor the dew to wake, Nor the mist that shall pass with morning ; For, things of thyself, they will die with thee ; But those that are lent from on high, like me, Must rise, and will live, from the dust set free, To the regions above returning. 85 SNOW-FLAKES. " And, if true to thy word and just thou art, Like the spirit that dwells in the holiest heart, Unsullied by thee, thou wilt let me depart, And return to my native heaven. For I would be placed in the beautiful bow, From time to time in thy sight to glow. So thou mayst remember the Flake of Snow, By the promise that God has given ! " H. F. Gould. Mabefs Wonber. HERE must be flowers in heaven ! " Little Mabel wondering cried, As she gazed through the frosted window, " Ah yes, ah yes," I replied. " And every single blossom Is white as white can be ! " "Perhaps;" I carelessly answered. " When we get there, we shall see." " And oh, they have so many ! Why, every tree must be full ! " " Of course, Spring lasts for ever In heaven," I said, so dull. 36 PERFECTION. " Do the angels get tired of flowers ? " Asked she, with a gentle sigh ; " For see, oh see, they are throwing Whole handfuls down from the sky ! " I sprang to the frosted window, To see what the child could mean : The ground was covered with snow-flakes, And the air was full between. I kissed my innocent darling, And speedily set her right; While I prayed that her heart might ever Be pure as the snow and as light. H. E. B. It I T snows ! it snows ! from out the sky The feathered flakes, how fast they fly! Like little birds, that don't know why, They're on the chase from place to place, While neither can another trace. It snows ! it snows ! a merry play Is o'er us on this heavy day. 37 Like dancers in an airy hall That has not room to hold them all, While some keep up, and others fall, The atoms shift, then thick and swift They drive along to form the drift That, weaving up, so dazzling white, Is like a rising wall of light. But now the wind comes whistling loud, To snatch and waft it as a cloud, Or giant phantom in a shroud. It spreads ; it curls ; it mounts and whirls ; At length a mighty wing unfurls ; And then, away ! but where, none knows, Or ever will. It snows ! it snows ! To-morrow will the storm be done; Then out will come the golden sun, And we shall see upon the run Before his beams, in sparkling streams, What now a curtain o'er him seems. And thus with life it ever goes 'Tis shade and shine ! It snows ! it snows ! H. F, Gould. Jjer Uajaritrs fern purer than Snofo. Jfanuntaiiona 4 : 1. URTTY is one of the most strik- ing characteristics of the new- fallen snow. "It is," says Sturm, " a result of the congregated reflections of light from the in- numerable small faces of the crystals. The same effect is produced when ice is crushed to frag- ments. It is extremely light and thin, consequently full of pores, and these con- tain air ; it is farther composed of parts more or less compact, and such a substance does not admit the sun's rays to pass, neither does it absorb them ; on the contrary, it reflects them very powerfully, and this gives it the dazzling white appearance we see in it." 41 Or SNOW-FLAKES. You shall look out upon a gray, frozen earth, and a gray, chilling sky. The trees stretch forth naked branches imploringly. The air pinches and pierces you ; a homesick desolation clasps around your shiv- ering, shrinking frame, and then God works a miracle. The windows of heaven are opened, and there comes forth a blessing. The gray sky unlocks her treasures, and softness and whiteness and warmth and beauty float gently down upon the evil and the good. Through all the long night, while you sleep, the work goes noiselessly on. Earth puts off her earthliness ; and when the morning comes, she stands before you in the white robes of a saint. The sun hallows her with baptismal touch, and she is glorified. There is no longer on her pure brow any thing common or unclean. The Lord God hath wrapped her about with light as with a garment. His divine charity hath covered the multitude of her sins, and there is no scar or stain, no " mark of her shame," or " s"eal of her sorrow." The far-off hills swell their white purity against the pure blue of the heaven. The sheeted splendor of the fields sparkles back a thousand suns for one. The trees lose their nakedness and misery 42 PURITY. and desolation, and every slenderest twig is clothed upon with glory. Wheat-fields, corn-fields, and meadow-lands are all alike wrapped by its dazzling mantle. Here and there some straggling weeds refuse to be hidden, and stand up in unsightly contrast with the pure white surface around them. The stone walls, entirely con- cealed, only look like a low ridge ; but the snow can not contrive to cover up the rail-fences, but only heap up a bank by their side. The woods, with their bare trunks and intermingling branches, cast a shadow, notwithstanding the absence of leaves, and we are glad again to come into the warm sun- shine. Evergreens do not brighten a winter land- scape. They seem as if they were mourning in sympathy with their spoiled brethren of the forest ; and look dusky and almost black, like somber senti- nels along the road. The snow sparkles with its crystals. What purity ! " Whiter than snow ! " The longing of the soul for purity, the faith in the cleansing power that is able thus to purify, are breathed in the prayer, " Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ! " The deep, deep snow offers no temptations to wander in the fields, or step away from the beaten SNOW-FLAKES. track. One well-defined road, from which the driver reluctantly turns aside on meeting another sleigh, has alone broken the crust on its surface, and deter- mines its depth. Foot-passengers step out into the deep snow, and wait till the sleigh passes, but are glad at once to step back again. How well would it be if Christians thus dreaded to step aside from the narrow way that leadeth unto life, and were as ready to return to its secure footing, the path beaten by blessed foot-prints ! Beecher. What comes from heaven is pure ; but the tendency is to soil it, and that which keeps nearest heaven most escapes the pollution of earth. At the foot of the Alps you find the roaring, muddy stream, the clay-stained snow. But on the summit of Mt. Blanc is a pure robe of celestial white, never stained, only sometimes covered with a roseate gauze to salute the setting sun. Kirk. The snow is very beautiful when it has first fallen. Many of our poets have had recourse to the snow- flake for some of their finest poetical images ; nor do 44 PURITY. I know a fitter emblem of innocence and purity than a falling flake, ere it receives the stain of earth. There are but few things with which we can com- pare snow for purity. The Psalmist says, " He giv- eth the snow like wool ; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes." " Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Milton has made beautiful allusion to it in his hymn on the Nativity, where he says, " It was the winter mild, While the heaven-born Child All meanly wrapped in the rude manger lies; Nature in her awe to Him Had defied her gaudy trim, With her great Master so to sympathize. It was no season then for her To wanton with the sun, her lusty paramour. " Only with speeches fair She woos the gentle air To hide her guilty front with innocent snow ; And on her naked shame, Pollute with sinful blame, The saintly vail of maiden white to throw, Confounded that her Maker's eyes Should look so near upon her foul deformities." T. Miller. I 45 '< SNOW-FLAKES. Die Snow-Wreath. , what is so pure, so soft, or so bright, As a wreath of the new-fallen snow ! It seems as if brushed from the garments of light, To fall on us mortals below. But here is no home for thee, child of the sky ; Thy purity here must decay, Thy being be transient, thy beauty all die, Nor a trace of thy loveliness stay. Go, go to the mountain-top, there make thy nest ; 'Tis nearer thy own native home ; And live on its peak like a silvery crest, Where nothing to soil thee can come. This emblem how apt of a virtuous mind Made pure by the Spirit divine ! Like a snow-wreath 'tis marred in a world so unkind, Fit only in heaven to shine. J. B. Waterbury. 40 PURITY. The First Snow. 0-DAY has been a pleasant day, Despite the cold and snow : Sabbath stillness filled the air, And pictures slumbered every where, Around, above, below. We woke at dawn and saw the trees Before our windows white; Their limbs were clad with snow-like bark, Save that the under sides were dark, Like bars against the light. The fence was white around the house, The lamp before the door; The porch was glazed with pearled sleet, Great drifts lay in the silent street, The street was seen no more ! Long trenches had been roughly dug, And giant foot-prints made; But few were out; the streets were bare; I saw but one pale wanderer there, And he was like a shade ! 47 SNOW-FLAKES. I seemed to walk another world, Where all was still and blest; The cloudless sky, the stainless snows, It was a vision of repose, A dream of heavenly rest, A dream the holy night completes ; For now the moon hath come, I stand in heaven with folded wings, A free and happy soul that sings When all things else are dumb ! Richard Henry Stoddard. HROUG-H the hushed air the whitening shower descends, ^* At first thin-wavering, till at last the flakes > Fall broad and wide and fast, dimming the day With a continual flow. The cherished fields Put on their winter robe of purest white ; 'Tis brightness all, save where the new snow melts Along the mazy current. Low the woods Bow their hoar head; and, ere the languid sun Faint from the west emits its evening ray, Earth's universal face, deep-hid and chill, Is one wide dazzling waste, that buries wide The works of man. Thomson. 48 |"orir gifattjj JSnnfai liht feool. |)saIm4Z:10. OLD and dreary as winter is, it is not devoid of interest to the man of taste and Christian sentiment. Look at the del- icate snow-flake. With what grace of motion has God en- dowed it ! How childlike, gen- tly, peacefully, confidingly the little creature comes down in- to our turbulent earth ! It is not dif- ficult to conceive that it comes as an attendant on some angel, whose movements it imitates. Kirk. We have sat and watched the fall of snow until our head grew dizzy, for it is a bewitching sight to persons speculatively inclined. There is an aimless way of riding down, a simple, careless, thoughtless SNOW-FLAKES. motion, that leads you to think that nothing can be more nonchalant than snow. And then it rests upon a leaf or alights upon the ground, with such a dainty step, so softly, so quietly, that you almost pity its virgin helplessness. If you reach out your hand to help it, your very touch destroys it. It dies in your palm, and departs as a tear. Nowhere is snow so beautiful as when one sojourns in a good old-fashioned mansion in the country, bright and warm, full of home joy and quiet. You look out through large windows and see one of those flights of snow in a still, calm day, that make the air seem as if it were full of white millers or butterflies, flut- tering down from heaven. There is something ex- tremely beautiful in the motion of these large flakes of snow. They do not make haste, nor plump straight down with a dead fall, like a whistling rain- drop. They seem to be at leisure ; and descend with that quiet, wavering, sideway motion which birds sometimes use when about to alight. You think you are reading ; and so you are, but it is not in the book that lies open before you. The silent, dreamy hour passes away, and you have not felt it pass. The trees are dressed with snow. The long arms of evergreens bend with its weight ; the rails are 62 o \ doubled, and every post wears a starry crown. The well-sweep, the bucket, the well-curb are fleeced over. And still the silent, quivering air is full of trooping flakes, thousands following to take the place of all that fall. The ground is heaped, the paths are gone, the road is hidden, the fields are leveled, the eaves of buildings jut over, and, as the day moves on, the fences grow shorter, and gradually sink from sight. All night the heavens rain crystal flakes. Yet, that roof, on which the smallest rain pattered audible music, gives no sound. There is no echo in the stroke of snow, until it waxes to an avalanche and slips from the mountains. Then it fills the air like thunderbolts. Beecher. Falling snow is beautiful in a forest. It comes wavering down among the trees without a whisper, and takes to the ground without the sound of a foot- fall. Evergreen trees grow intense in contrasts of dark-green ruffled with radiant white. Bush and tree are powdered and banked up. Not the slight- est sound is made in all the work which fills the woods with winter soil many feet deep. When the SNOW-FLAKES. morning comes, then comes the sun also. The storm has gone back to its northern nest to shed its feath- ers there. The air is still, cold, bright. But what a glory rests upon the too brilliant earth ! Are these the January leaves? is this the winter efflorescence of shrub and tree ? You can scarcely look for the exceeding brightness. Trees stand up against the clear, gray sky, brown and white in contrast, as if each trunk and bough and branch and twig had been coated with ermine, or with white moss. There is an exquisite airiness and lightness in the masses of snow on trees and fences, when seen just as the storm left them. The wind or sun soon dis- enchants the magic scene. Ib - GRACE. The Snoo7-Storm. : NNOUNCED by all the trumpets of the sky Arrives the snow, and, driving o'er the fields, ^f Seems no where to alight ; the whited air >io Hides hills and woods, the river and the heaven, And vails the farm-house at the garden's end. The sled and traveler stopped, the courier's feet Delayed, all friends shut out, the house-mates sit Around the radiant fireplace, inclosed In a tumultuous privacy of storm. Come see the north-wind's masonry. Out of an unseen quarry, evermore Furnished with tile, the fierce artificer Carves his white bastions, with projected roof Round every windward stake, or tree, or door, Speeding, the myriad-handed, his wild work So fanciful, so savage; naught cares he For number or proportion. Mockingly On coop or kennel he hangs Parian wreaths; A swan-like form invests the hidden thorn ; Fills up the farmer's lane from wall to wall, Mauger the farmer's sighs, and at the gate A tapering turret overtops the work. And when his hours are numbered, and the world Is all his own, retiring as he were not, G Leaves, when the sun appears, astonished Art To mimic, in those structures, stone by stone, Built in an age, the mad wind's night-work, The frolic architecture of the snow. R. W. Emerson. The Spirit of the Snow. f^r? HE night brings forth the morn ; ^JL)) Of the cloud is lightning born ; From out the darkest earth the brightest roses grow; Bright sparks from black flints fly: And from out a leaden sky Comes the silvery-footed Spirit of the Snow. The wondering air grows mute, As her pearly parachute Cometh slowly down from heaven, softly floating to and fro; And the earth emits no sound, As lightly on the ground Leaps the silvery-footed Spirit of the Snow. At the contact of her tread, The mountain's festal head As with chaplets of white roses seems to glow ; GRACE. And its furrowed cheeks grow white, With a feeling of delight, At the presence of the Spirit of the Snow. As she wendeth to the vale, The longing fields grow pale, The tiny streams that vein them cease to flow j And the river stays its tide, With wonder and with pride, To gaze upon the Spirit of the Snow. But little does she deem The love of field or stream ; She is frolicsome and lightsome- as the roe ; She is here and she is there ; On the earth or in the air, Ever-changing, floats the Spirit of the Snow. Now, a daring climber, she Mounts the tallest forest tree, Out along the dizzy branches doth she go ! And her tassels, silver- white, Down-swinging through the night, Mark the pillow of the Spirit of the Snow. Now she climbs the mighty mast, Where the sailor-boy at last Dreams of home, in his hammock down below ; 67 at SNOW-FLAKES. There she watches in his stead, Till the morning light shines red, Then evanishes the Spirit of the Snow. Or, crowning with white fire The minster's topmost spire With a glory such as sainted foreheads show, She teaches fanes are given Thus to lift the heart to heaven, There to melt like the Spirit of the Snow. Now above the loaded wain, Now beneath the thundering train, Doth she hear the sweet bells tinkle and the snorting en- gine blow ; Now she flutters on the breeze, Till the branches of the trees Catch the tossed and tangled tresses of the Spirit of the Snow. Now an infant's balmy breath Gives the Spirit seeming death, When adown her pallid features fair, Decay's damp dew- drops flowj Now, again her strong assault Can make an army halt, And trench itself in terror 'gainst the Spirit of the Snow. I 68 GRACE. At times, with gentle power, In visiting some bower, She scarce will hide the holly's red, the blackness of the sloe; But ah ! her awful might, When down some Alpine hight The hapless hamlet sinks before the Spirit of the Snow. On a feather she floats down The turbid rivers brown, Down to meet the drifting navies of the winter-freighted foe; Then swift o'er the azure walls Of the awful waterfalls, Where Niagara leaps roaring, glides the Spirit of the Snow. With her flag of truce unfurled, She makes peace o'er all the world, Makes bloody battle cease awhile, and war's unpitying woe ; Till its hollow womb within The deep-mouthed culverin Incloses, like a cradled child, the Spirit of the Snow. In her spotless linen hood, Like the other sisterhood, She braves the open cloister where the psalm soupds sweet and low, When some sister's bier doth pass From the minster and the mass, Soon to sink into the earth, like the Spirit of the Snow. 59 SNOW-FLAKES. But at times so full of joy, She will play with girl and boy, Fly from out their tingling fingers, like white fire-balls on the foe ; She will burst in feathery flakes ; And the ruin that she makes Will but wake the crackling laughter of the Spirit of the Snow. Or, in furry mantle dressed, She will fondle on her breast The embryo buds awaiting the near Spring's mysterious throe So fondly that the first Of the blossoms that outburst Will be called the beauteous daughter of the Spirit of the Snow. Ah ! would that we were sure Of hearts so warmly pure, In all the winter weather that this lesser life must know; That when shines the Sun of Love From a wa.rmer realm above, In its life we may dissolve, like the Spirit of the Snow. Dublin University Magazine. .ill \t atb mabe rbm> ibing beautiful in (us tinu. CccUsiastts 3:11. NOW is the adornment of win- ter. Its beauty is a compensa- tion for the loss of the flowers and foliage of the milder sea- sons. When Nature has put off her green robes, when the fields have become bare, the streams and lakes ice-bound, and the hum of the bees and the songs of the birds are no longer heard, then God opens his treasure-house and brings forth jewels for the coronation of the year. He throws over the earth a robe of purest white, he festoons each shrub and tree with diamonds and pearls, and bids every beholder rejoice in these manifestations 63 SNOW-FLAKES. of his skill. For all the beauty of the earth is but the outward expression of the beauty which dwells eternal in the Divine Mind. Each six-leaved blossom of winter had its pattern in his thought before it was created ; and all the diversities of its forms show the wealth of his resources even in the smallest things. So God has not left himself " without witness " for a single season. Each has its message from heaven, unfolding his glories, and bidding man behold and adore. All the roofs are blanketed with snow ; all the fences are bordered. . Every gate-post is statuesque : every wood-pile is a marble quarry. Harshest out- lines are softened. Instead of angles and ruggedness and squalor, there are billowy, fleecy undulations. Nothing so rough, so common, so ugly, but it has been transfigured into newness of life. Every where the earth has received beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Without sound of hammer or ax, with- out the grating of saw or the click of chisel, prose has been sculptured into poetry. The actual has put on the silver vail of the ideal. Gail Hamilton. BEAUTY. It is almost impossible to paint the glory of the northern winter forests. Every tree, laden with the purest snow, resembled a Gothic fountain of bronze, covered with frozen spray, through which only sug- gestive glimpses of its delicate tracery could be ob- tained. From every side we looked over thousands of such mimic fountains, shooting low or high, from their pavements of ivory and alabaster. It was an enchanted wilderness, white, silent, gleaming, and filled with inexhaustible forms of beauty. To what shall I liken those glimpses under the boughs, into the depths of the forest, where the snow destroyed all perspective, and brought the remotest fairy nooks and coverts, too lovely and fragile to seem cold, into the glittering foreground ? " Wonderful ! " " Glorious ! " I could only exclaim in breathless admiration. Bayard Taylor. The forests were indescribable in their silence, whiteness, and wonderful variety of snowy adornment. The weeping birches leaned over the road and form- ed white-fringed arches ; the firs wore mantles of ermine, and muffs and tippets of the softest swan's down. Snow, wind, and frost had wrought the most 65 SNOW-FLAKES. marvelous transformations. Here were kneeling nuns with their arms hanging listlessly by their sides, and the white cowls falling over their faces. There lay a warrior's helmet; lace curtains, torn and ragged, hung from the points of little Gothic spires. Caverns, lined with sparry incrustations, silver palm-leaves, doors, loop-holes, arches, and cascades were thrown together in fantastic confusion, and mingled with the more decided forms of the larger trees, which were trees but in form, so completely were they wrapped in their dazzling disguise. It was an enchanted land, where you scarcely dared breathe, lest a breath might break the spell. Ib . The new snow had fallen on the mountains, and the vast basin of the Monte Rosa chain lay before us, clothed in flowing robes of the most pure and spotless white ; while every little nook and ledge, and ine- quality of rock on which the snow could rest, was covered with the same virgin luster, so that it looked as if the sides of the craggy mountains were flecked and dashed with spray, and as if' myriads of foaming torrents were coursing down the precipices, streak- ing their surface with their white tracks in every i > 66 BEAUTY. direction. After we turned to the right and began the ascent, the light became stronger, and the outline sharper, and our view of the vast glacier basin more uninterrupted and clear. The valley of Macregnaga goes very far into the heart of the mountain, so that all the snowy part of Monte Eosa rises in one great mass directly above it. The sun came up, and for two or three minutes, not more, all the upper part of this vast region of snow was dyed of the deepest crimson, not pink, as an evening view of the Alps often is ; then, for much longer, it was of the most brilliant gold, just the color of a new sovereign; and then, as the sun overtopped the lower mountains, and their shadows were no longer thrown upward, this gorgeous coloring gave place to a dazzling glare. Miles off, as we were, we could hardly look at the snowy basin without blinking. wills. There is in us a want of taste to appreciate the ex- quisite beauty of the snow-flakes that we tread under foot. There is a narrow selfishness which does not even inquire what are the moral or esthetic uses of the snow ; but is contented or sad to see it come upon the earth, according as it affects our arrangements i 67 ' SNOW-FLAKES. and wishes. Our education has this radical defect, that it does- not teach us to make the senses the instruments of our higher faculties ; to study nature, to revere every thing that God makes; that it fails to form us to the highest exercises of which we are capable, and leaves us ignorant of some of the most interesting and important objects of knowledge: God, his word, his works and ourselves. Kirk. HERE 's beauty all around our paths, If but our watchful eyes Can trace it, mid familiar things, And through their lowly guise. We may find it in the winter boughs, As they cross the cold blue sky, While soft on icy pool and stream Their penciled shadows lie; When we look upon their tracery, By the fairy frost-work bound, Whence the flitting red-breast shakes a shower Of crystals to the ground. Hemans. 68 BEAUTY. The Beautiful Snow. i H the snow ! the beautiful snow ! Filling the sky and the earth below, Over the house-tops, over the street, Over the heads of the people you meet. Dancing, Flirting, Skimming along, Beautiful snow ! it can do nothing wrong ; Flying to kiss a fair lady's cheek, Clinging to lips in a frolicsome freak ; Beautiful snow from the heavens above, Pure as an angel, and fickle as love ! Oh the snow ! the beautiful snow ! How the flakes gather and laugh as they go ! Whirling about in its maddening fun ; It plays in its glee with every one. Chasing, Laughing, Hurrying by, It lights up the face, and sparkles the eye ; And even the dogs, with a bark and a bound, Snap at the crystals that eddy around : The town is alive, and its heart in a glow, To welcome the coming of beautiful snow. 69 ' SNOW-FLAKES. How the wild crowd goes swaying along, Hailing each other with humor and song! How the gay sledges, like meteors flash by, Bright for the moment, then lost to the eye! Ringing, Swinging, Dashing they go, Over the crust of the beautiful snow, Snow so pure when it falls from the sky, To be trampled in mud by the crowd rushing by. To be trampled and tracked by thousands of feet. Till it blends with the filth in the horrible street. "Once I was pure as the snow but I fell; Fell like the snow-flake, from heaven to hell; Fell, to be trampled as filth of the street, Fell to be scoffed, derided, and beat, Pleading, Cursing, Dreading to die, Selling my soul to whomever would buy; Dealing in shame for a morsel of bread, Hating the living, and fearing the dead: Merciful God ! have I fallen so low ? And yet I was once like this beautiful snow ! TO BEAUTY. " Once I was fair as this beautiful snow, With an eye like its crystals, a heart like its glow ; Once I was loved for my innocent grace, Flattered and sought for the charm of my face. Father, Mother, Sister, all, God and myself I have lost by the fall. The veriest wretch that goes shivering by Will take a wide sweep lest I venture too nigh ; For of all that is on or about me, I know, There is nothing that's pure but the beautiful snow. " How strange it should be that this beautiful snow Should fall on a sinner with no where to go ! How strange it would be, when the night comes again, If the snow and the ice struck my desperate brain ! Fainting, Freezing, Dying alone, Too wicked for prayer, too weak for my moan To be heard in the crash of the crazy town, Gone wild in their joy at the snow's coming down, To lie and to die in my terrible woe, With a bed and a shroud in the beautiful snow ! " 71 f SNOW-FLAKES. Helpless and foul as the trampled snow, Sinner, despair not ! Christ stoopeth low, To rescue the soul that is lost in its sin, And raise it to life and enjoyment again. Groaning, Bleeding, Dying, for thee, The Crucified hung on the accursed tree ! His accents of mercy fall soft on thine ear. " Is there mercy for me ? Will he heed my weak prayer ? God ! in the stream that for sinners did flow, Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ! " Selected.