Page:Oregon Literature by Horner.djvu/17

Rh poet." The poet is the only millionaire that is wealthy enough to purchase a landscape. Yet, no man or woman with the least poetic impulse can entirely escape and resist the inspiring influences of luxuriant vegetation, balmy air, and delightful scenery. With a state drained on the north by the mighty Columbia, measured on the east by rivers and prairies and gold, guarded on the south by the sky-kissed Siskiyous, bathed on the west by the sunset seas; a state dotted here and there by the everlasting peaks—the sentinels of the world bound together with great mountain chains, reveling in delightful valleys beautifully tessalated with charming traceries—crystal streams winding like silvery threads from the glaciers far above as if seeking the violets, the daisies, and the witcheries of the lowlands, ours is not the scenery that makes warriors and bandits, but it is the taming, refining, elevating influence of the milder, gentler, environments peculiar to our land—environments that will in the coming days produce a literature most admired for the gentleness of its sentiment and the grace of its art. With us the perfection of the literary art will attain its zenith in approximating the perfection of the sweet nature and rich landscapes about us.

Our fathers were a busy, active people, but they had their times for rest; and during these restful