Birdsnest

"It begins, as some one has beautifully said, “with a mother’s look,—with a father’s smile of approbation, or sign of reproof,—with a sister’s gentle pressure of the hand, or a brother’s noble act of forbearance,—with handfuls of flowers in green and daisied meadow,—with birdsnests admired, but not touched,—with creeping ants, and almost imperceptible emmets,—with humming bees,—with pleasant walks and shady lands,—and with thoughts directed in sweet and kindly tones and words, to incite to acts of benevolence, to deeds of virtue, end to the source of all virtue, to God himself.”"