the happiness of life as a constant
realization of the blessings we enjoy. The difference between a
naturally contented nature and a naturally discontented one is one of
the marked differences of innate temperament, but we can do much to
cultivate that habit of dwelling on the benefits of our lot which
converts acquiescence into a more positive enjoyment."

Nothing can do more to add to our happiness of mind than to cultivate
the gracious habit of being grateful for joys that come to us and to
seek to appreciate the worth of the beneficent gifts that are ever
being showered upon us. We are so apt to fall into the habit of
accepting blessings as a matter of course and of failing to discover
their wonderful value. How many of us, for example, have ever
thoughtfully dwelt upon the priceless attributes of the air that is
ever and always floating about us. In order that we may have a truer
appreciation of its fine qualities and purposes let us read these
words by Lord Avebury:

"Fresh air, how wonderful it is! It permeates all our body, it bathes
the skin in a medium so delicate that we are not conscious of its
presence, and yet so strong that it wafts the odors of flowers and
fruit into our rooms, carries our ships over the seas, the purity of
sea and mountain into the heart of our cities. It is the vehicle of
sound, it brings to us the voices of those we love and the sweet music
of nature; it is the great reservoir of the rain which waters the
earth, it softens the heat of day and the cold of night, covers us
overhead with a glorious arch of blue, and lights up the morning and
evening skies with fire. It is so exquisitely soft and pure, so gentle
and yet so useful, that no wonder Ariel is the most delicate, lovable
and fascinating of all Nature Spirits."

It is only when we open our eyes to the beauty of the wonders about us
that we see how much there is to contribute to our happiness if we
will but open our hearts and let it come in. What a perpetual
exaltation nature will afford us when we have cultivated the fine
habit of looking upon it with the welcoming eyes through which Richard
Jefferies beholds it: "The whole time in the open air," he tells us,
"resting at mid-day under the elms with the ripple of heat flowing
through the shadow; at midnight between the ripe corn and the
hawthorne hedge or the white camomile and the poppy pale in the
duskiness, with face upturned to the thoughtful heaven. Consider the
glory of