hear that poem which begins:

"Beautiful snow! beautiful snow!
Falling so lightly,
Daily and nightly,
Alike 'round the dwellings of the lofty and low;
Horses are prancing,
Cheerily dancing,
Stirred with the spirit that comes from the snow."

We oftentimes think that God is seen in the fields and flowers in the
spring and summer, but He is also seen in the beautiful snow of winter.
If you will let some of the snow fall upon the sleeve of your coat and
then examine it carefully, you will be surprised at its beauty. It is
beautiful when examined without a microscope, but much more beautiful
and wonderful when examined with a microscope. Each flake is fashioned
into stellar shape. It is formed and fashioned by the same hand which
made the stars of the heavens and gave them their sparkle and beauty.
Each flake is a beautiful crystal. Each somewhat like the others, and
yet no two exactly alike. There are hundreds of varieties, each
beautiful and all glorious. These beautiful little snow stars are all
formed with perfect geometrical accuracy. Some have three sides and
angles, some six, others eight, and some have more. One resembles a
sparkling cross, while others seem almost like the leaves of an open
flower. Some are like single stars, others like double stars and
clusters of stars; and although the ground in winter is covered with
myriads of them, yet each one is formed with as much correctness and
beauty as if God had made each one for special examination and as an
exhibition of His infinite skill and divine perfection.

[Illustration: Snow-flakes Magnified.]

But like everything else that God has made, the snow is also useful. You
may possibly have thought of it as affording excellent sport in sliding
down hill, enabling you to enjoy a sleigh ride behind horses with
jingling bells, affording opportunity for a snow-ball fight, or as
furnishing the material for making snow men or snow houses. In all these
ways the snow is a source of delight and pleasure to boys and girls, but
after all, the snow has a special mission in the world during the severe
cold of the winter.

[Illustration: A Winter Sleigh Ride.]

The severity of the cold is often greatly modified by the presence of
snow. The snow forms a warm mantle to protect the grass and grain
fields. It wraps its soft warm covering around the plants, and thus
protects them