They watched it in silence until it faded away, and the whole scene,
crowned with flowers and opening foliage tinted like blossoms of varied
hues, was gemmed with crystals by the now unclouded sun, for the soft
rain had clung to everything, from the loftiest tree-top to the tiniest
spire of grass. Flame-like orioles were flashing through the perfumed
air. Robins, with their heads lifted heavenward, were singing as
rapturously as if they were saints rather than rollicking gormandizers.
Every bird that had a voice was lifting it up in thanksgiving, but clear,
sweet, and distinct above them all came the notes of the wood-thrush,
with his Beethoven-like melody.
"Have you no words for a scene like this, Webb?" she asked, at last.
"It is beyond all words, Amy. It is one of nature's miracles. My wonder
exceeds even my admiration, for the greater part of this infinite variety
of beauty is created out of so few materials and by so simple yet
mysterious a method that I can scarcely believe it, although I see it and
know it. Men have always agreed to worship the genius which could achieve
the most with the least. And yet the basis of nearly all we see is a
microscopic cell endowed with essential powers. That large apple-tree
yonder, whose buds are becoming so pink, started from one of these minute
cells, and all the growth, beauty, and fruitfulness since attained were
the result of the power of this one cell to add to itself myriads of like
cells, which form the whole structure.
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