her hand, and
in that mellow, musical voice that was sweeter than the chanting of
birds, she exclaimed:

"This vast cathedral, boundless as our wonder;
Whose shining lamps yon brilliant mists[A] supply;
Its choir the winds, and waves; its organ thunder;
Its dome the sky."

[Footnote A: Aurora Borealis]

"Do you worship Nature?" I asked.

"If we did, we should worship ourselves, for we are a part of Nature."

"But do you not recognize an invisible and incomprehensible Being that
created you, and who will give your spirit an abode of eternal bliss, or
consign it to eternal torments according as you have glorified and
served him?"

"I am an atom of Nature;" said Wauna, gravely. "If you want me to answer
your superstitious notions of religion, I will, in one sentence,
explain, that the only religious idea in Mizora is: Nature is God, and
God is Nature. She is the Great Mother who gathers the centuries in her
arms, and rocks their children into eternal sleep upon her bosom."

"But how," I asked in bewildered astonishment, "how can you think of
living without creeds, and confessionals? How can you prosper without
prayer? How can you be upright, and honest, and true to yourselves and
your friends without praying for divine grace and strength to sustain
you? How can you be noble, and keep from envying your neighbors,
without a prayer for divine grace to assist you to resist such
temptation?"

"Oh, daughter of the dark ages," said Wauna, sadly, "turn to the
benevolent and ever-willing Science. She is the goddess who has led us
out of ignorance and superstition; out of degradation and disease, and
every other wretchedness that superstitious, degraded humanity has
known. She has lifted us above the low and the little, the narrow and
mean in human thought and action, and has placed us in a broad, free,
independent, noble, useful and grandly happy life."

"You have been favored by divine grace," I reiterated, "although you
refuse to acknowledge it."

She smiled compassionately as she answered:

"She is the divinity who never turned a deaf ear to earnest and
persistent effort in a sensible direction. But prayers to her must be
_work_, resolute and conscientious _work_. She teaches that success in
this world can only come to those who work for it. In your superstitious
belief you pray for benefits you have never earned, possibly do not
deserve, but expect to get simply because you pray for them