Class of 1893
Commencement Day essay, “Aesthetics in Nature.”

Birth: October 12, 1876
Death: December 24, 1969

Spouse: Samuel Henry Paysinger (1965-1933)

Burial: Colony Cemetery, Newberry, South Carolina, USA

Information courtesy of www.findagrave.com, #63775451.

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The State (Columbia, SC), December 26, 1969, p.44.

MRS. LESTER PAYSINGER

NEWBERRY – Mrs. Lester Bloom Paysinger, widow of S. Henry Paysinger, died Wednesday in a White Rock nursing home.

Born in Charlotte, she was a daughter of the late John F. And Mary Bloom. She was a retired school teacher.

Surviving are a stepdaughter, Mrs. Mary Paysinger Campbell of Daytona Beach, Fla.

Funeral services will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Whittaker Funeral Home, with burial in Colony Lutheran Church Cemetery.

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The Daily Standard (Concord, NC) June 9, 1893, p.1.

AESTHETICS IN NATURE

[This is the graduating essay of Miss Lester Blume {sic. Bloom}, of Charlotte, read at the recent commence of Mont Amoena Seminary.]

Pause, and contemplate the universe in which you dwell, and the glory of Him who created it. What scene of wonders is here presented to your view! If beheld with a religious eye, what a temple for the worship of the Almighty. The earth is spread out before you, reposing amid the desolation of winter, or clad in the verdure of spring – smiling in the beauty of summer – or loaded with autumnal fruit – opening to an endless variety of beings, the treasure of their Maker’s goodness and ministering subsistence and comfort to every creature that lives.

The heavens also declare the glory of the Lord. The sun cometh forth from his chambers to scatter the shades of night, inviting you to the renewal of your labors, adorning the face of Nature, and as he advances to his meridian brightness cherishing every herb and flower that springeth from the bosom of the earth. Nor when he retires again from our view, doth he leave the Creator without a witness. He only hides his own splendor for awhile to disclose to you a more glorious scene – to show you the immensity of space filled with worlds unnumbered, that your imaginations may wander without a limit among the vast creations of God.

If  a man would be alone let him look at the stars. The rays shich come from those heavenly world’s will seperate him from the lower earthly objects. The atmosphere seems to have been made transparent purposely for man to behold the sublime. The stars are visible almost every night, and so few men study them or take any interest at all in them. Yet, if we had never seen them, or if they were to appear only once in a thousand years, what a sensation they would create! How much they would illustrate the greatness and majesty of God! The remembrance of teh wonderful display of the city of God would be preserved for many generations. Yet, when we behold the stars so very often they do not excite any particular wonder or admiration in us. In beholding these wonderful worlds there is a certain reverence awakened in us and then we are able to see how weak and insignificant we are; and also to behold the goodness of God in creating so beautiful a scene for us to look on so often. Longfellow has called the stars the lovely forget-me-not of the angels.

The many beauties which our kind Heavenly Father has provided for us are never appreciated until we are in great trouble. An instance of a man who was imprisoned may illustrate this statement. The man was in a dark cell and there was but one crack through which he could see anything. The only things which he could see were a very small star by night and the azure sky by day. This man could see only two of the many beauties in Nature and could better appreciate them than we who are able to see more of them can. He afterwards said that the little star was the prettiest thing he ever beheld.

But the stars are not the only beauties in Nature, for to whatever part we direct or thoughts, we find something to interest and gratify our senses, our reason, or our imagination.

Go to the great forests and meadows and you will find numerous proof of God’s love for us. In each of the wild flowers notice the different colors and the queer shape of each tiny petal. Can man make anything so wonderful or so beautiful? This question is very readily answered; he cannot. And again, can man make any of he beautiful flowers bloom or can he make them grow? This question like the one previous to it, is answered  in the negative. When we look over a large collection of flowers as in a flower garden, we can then see the many different formations, colors, and sizes; and in these God shows His wisdom in the work of nature by having the Trinity exhibited in each flower and in every part. In speaking of flowers Henry Ward Breecher has said, “Flowers are the sweetest things that God ever made and forgot to put a soul into.” In trees we see the same wonderful power displayed. God makes trees not only for the pleasure of man but also for use and beauty.

Notice the lower animals how beautiful some of them are, and how well protected for the climate in which they live.

Just pause for a moment in our consideration of the many beauties in Nature and observe the many beautiful birds which God has created. Some birds seem to be as intelligent as human beings.

Notice the parrot, its outside appearance is very pretty and what seems more wonderful it can be taught to speak. There are other birds which are just as pretty but none are so intelligent.

Observe the regularity of the season. Each has its own beauties but some have mre than others.

Notice spring. What is more beautiful than a bright spring morning.

In the east the sky is all aglow and we know that the bright sun will soon appear. Every little flower and weed is loaded with dew which sparkles like a thousand diamonds. the dew soon disappears but the flowers have been refreshed and everything is green. When the trees, grasses, and flowers are growing so nicely they all remind us of him who created them. After a bright spring has passed and the sun is slowly sinking below the western horizon we see all of the birds and fowls going to their respective homes there to remain until another day has dawned. In early spring there are so many wild flowers to be had and the sunshine is so warm that it seems very hard for us to remain in the house.

After spring we have bright laughing summer – the season in which God provides so much fruit for man’s use. Walking along a country road in mid summer we can look away to the right or perhaps to the left and we see a large orchard in which all of the trees are loaded with ripening fruit. In yards lovely flowers are blooming and in the gardens all kinds of vegetables are going.

Summer passes and autumn is upon us. this season has been considered by many the saddest one but this is a great mistake.

There are just as many beauties in autumn as there are in any other seasons, but they are less conspicuous. The trees which were in the last season loaded with unripe fruit are now bending beneath their loads of ripened fruit. A good many of the large shade trees are bare while others are covered with red and yellow leaves. Man can make nothing that can be compared with the least one of the beauties in this season.

Winter is the jolliest of all the seasons. We should remember that in winter when we do not see so many beauties as in the other seasons, that Nature is only preparing to make a greater effort in the spring.

What is prettier than a snow scene on a winter’s afternoon?

The snow quietly falls to the ground and unless we could see it we would not know that it was snowing. The little snowflake leaves a mark but not a stain. In speaking of winter Longfellow has said:

Out of the bosom of the air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garments shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest fields forsaken,
Silent and soft ans slow
Descends the snow.

It is through Nature that we approach nearest to God.

We have all seen terrific storms and as the lightening flashes in the heavens it is then that we feel the power and majesty of God an our dependence upon Him. How beautiful it is to be out under nothing except the heavens when a storm is rising, – to hear the thunder rolling and to see the large treees bending in the wind as if they were small bushes. While a storm is raging we feel very near to God for we know it is the work of his hands.

During Christ’s ministry on earth he taught altogether from Nature. It was from Nature that all of his parables were taken.

There is something in Nature to suit every disposition and at every time. When the rain is falling fast and everything looks dismal those who have lost very dear friends or relatives naturally feel sad; but when the sun is shining we almost always feel happy.

Nature tunes our lives and puts them into harmony with herself.