NATURE 8i

an intelligent and amiable retriever, a great pet at
Ardtornish. On coming up to salute one after a few
hours* or a day's absence, wagging her tail and
drawing back her lips so as to simulate a grinning
smile, she would seek around to find a stick, or a bit
of paper, or a dead leaf, and bring it in her mouth 5
so expressing her desire to propitiate. The dead
leaf or bit of paper was symbolic, in much the same
way as was the valueless cross. Probably, in respect
of sincerity of feeling, the advantage was on the side
of the retriever." The animal psychology here
expressed seems pretty bad, and the human psycho-
logy much worse.

Turning, however, to pleasanter subjects and
correcting any unduly harsh judgment, we would
remind the reader that Spencer was genuinely fond
of music and of scenery, two loves which cover a
multitude of sins.

"The often-quoted remark of Kant that two things
excited his awe—the starry heavens and the conscience of
man—-is not one which I should make of myself. In me
the sentiment has been more especially produced by three
things—the sea, a great mountain, and fine music in a
cathedral. Of these the first has, from familiarity I sup-
pose, lost much of the effect it originally had, but not the
others."

Nature.—One of the lasting pleasures of Spencer's
life was a simple delight in the beauty of Nature,
especially in varied scenery. Thus he writes (in
1844) to his friend Lott, regarding a journey into
South Wales: "I wish you had been with me!
Your poetical feelings would have had great grati-
fication. A day's journey through a constantly
changing scene of cloud-capped hills with here and
Fss the