Katherine Merritte Snyder Yates

“ He is always watching every expression that I turn toward each person that I meet;—He sees me from behind their eyes. He is always waiting to express love through my face; if I will only let it shine through. He is always waiting to speak His message through my voice; if I keep the tones pure enough to carry it. Oh, I wish that I could be worthy."
"That was a busy bunch of violets, today," said the Dream.
"Oh, yes," said Marjorie: "Every blossom was wonderful."
"Do you remember what you said a while ago, about being, yourself, made up of experiences? ”

“ Marjorie thought for quite a long time. "I believe," she said, "that I would say that matter is human experience."
"Good;" said the Dream. "And as human life is made up of the same sort of stuff that I am, that disposes of "matter" pretty thoroughly, doesn't it?"
"It certainly does," said Marjorie. "Looking at it that way makes it a lot easier to say, 'Nothing is the matter,' when people ask the question, doesn't it?"
"What else do you get out of it?" asked the Dream. "A clear thought isn't good for much unless you get something out of it that you can use every day. ”

“ She put up her hand and brushed it away and then lay still again; but in a moment the sweet look went from the corners of her mouth, and a little frown came between her eyebrows. "Oh dear!" she said.
"What's the matter?" asked the Dream.
"That's just it!" exclaimed Marjorie savagely; "The matter! Whenever there is any trouble or anything goes wrong, someone always says 'What's the matter?' And it always is matter. The thing that interferes with whatever is worth while, that spoils everything and upsets everything, is always matter!" ”

“ Down the road a little way, they passed a clump of tall trees, and just beyond these, another road branched off and seemed to run far up a long, green valley with high, steep mountain walls upon either side. "Oh, let us go this way," cried Marjorie; "It is the loveliest valley that I ever saw; and the mountain sides are as green as the floor of it; and isn't the stream the very clearest water in the whole world?" ”

“ Marjorie walked along, looking this way and that at the cheery life of the valley, and breathing in great breaths of the clear, sweet air. "Isn't it a wonderful valley?" she said to the Dream. "All of the people, and the animals, and the soil, and even the very air, seem to be full of eagerness to see what is to be brought forth, and can scarcely work fast enough in their anxiety to help."
"Work and expectation are wonderful hearteners," said the Dream. "They are the finest stimulants that ever were manufactured." ”

“ Just before he reached her, two smail children dashed out of a near-by gate and one of them rushed up to the boy and catching hold of his knees, began using him as a shield, in his wild effort to escape the "tag" of the other.
"Look out, kiddies!" said the larger boy, laughing and swinging aside to escape them. In doing so, he was careless of the long, green switch and it struck Marjorie a sharp blow on the cheek.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, starting back quickly, her eyes flashing and her face startled and angry; "Why can't you be more careful!" ”

“ Well, if you made every one of your experiences as sweet as each one of those violets, there wouldn't be any question about your being work would there?"
"But some of the experiences are so hard to keep sweet, or make sweet;" said Marjorie, with a sigh.
"Are they, really?" asked the Dream. "All that you have to do is to transmute them with love and understanding, from material experiences into spiritual experiences;—and when that is done, the only thing that remains is a bunch of sweet thoughts ”

“ The Dream smiled. "We are full of whimsies," he said, "aren't we? Well, whimsies or not, we'll keep them sweet, anyway. Let us go on down to the bridge and make friends with that big blossoming elderberry bush. It looks like more rents in the curtain."
The bush was at the farther end of the bridge, and just as they were about to step off of the boards onto the ground, a little whiff of wind tossed the end of Marjorie's scarf and flicked it against the rail of the bridge. Marjorie caught at it, it stuck and then came away bringing a splinter and a long end of loose yarn. ”

“ Well, not nearly everybody knows that what is called matter, is at the root of all trouble; and lots of folks would argue their heads off that it isn't so;—and yet those same folks, just as soon as anything unpleasant happens, immediately say 'What's the matter?' admitting the fact involuntarily, showing that they really know the truth inside, even if they won't let it come to the surface. ”

“ At the top of the hill, Marjorie stopped and sat down on one of the boulders and looked away across the valley, toward the steep, green mountains. "It is a very lovely valley," she said. "It must be wonderful all the year around. Every season must be wonderful, and every season must bring such fascinating work, and such fascinating returns. It seems such a happy place; but I suppose—, yes, sorrow does creep in, doesn't it?" and she looked toward a woman who was toiling up the little trail, seeing nothing at either right or left ”

“ The Dream grinned. "More damage would have been done if you had not got up," he said. "Dropped opportunities are a lot worse than dropped stitches, and not nearly so easily picked up. Now what do you get out of that?"
"That you can always drop material experiences, for spiritual experiences, and come out the winner," said Marjorie.
"But the violets looked material," said the Dream. ”

“ And besides, they will probably slip out when you are not looking; and the first thing that you know, they will meet you face to face out in the world somewhere. Perhaps we might go out now,—and see what we can find."
Marjorie looked doubtful. "I'd like to, but I don't know just how to begin."
"You don't have to begin," said the Dream; "We'll just walk along the road for a ways and see what sort of experiences you will attach to your present collection as we go. Even if you don't find what you are looking for, you'll be accomplishing something, anyway." ”

“ See that thou dost give me cause to look upon thee with love."
The Dream was silent for a moment. "Yes," he said, at last, "now I understand why you saw it in the faces of those who gave you experiences. It is a message worth keeping and using. And," he went on, "you notice that it says all men. ”

“ It is curious that a truth should have worked its way into a language and into everybody's consciousness, enough for them to keep stating it constantly; when if you called their attention to it, a lot of them would be right down indignant. ”

“ We'll sit down under the elder bush and I'll catch the stitches and make it as good as new."
So they climbed the little slope at the side of the road and sat down, with the fragrant blossoms all about them; and Marjorie took a long blade of grass and tied the stems of her violets, and laid them on her knee; and then began to examine the damage done to her scarf. She loosened the splinter and then began to laugh. "Oh ho," she said; "your work is cut out for you! You have got to repair the damage that you did, Mr. Splinter. You are just the thing to loop the threads back with;" ”