132 Zmuntu of tftt screes 



slightest cause, fell into a fit of melan- 

 choly just under a dark tangle of wil- 

 lows. It was not a weeping willow, but 

 one could hear half stifled sobs as the 

 brook slipped beneath its roots. 



Is it any wonder that water is so often 

 used as the symbol of life and youth ? 

 De Leon spent a life-time searching for 

 the fountain of life, that he might bathe 

 in it, and put on abiding youth. We are 

 also told in holy writ of the great white 

 throne, and the fountain of eternal life. 

 The little child dabbles his hands in the 

 brook and laughs at the gentle lapping of 

 its current. Even the old wrinkled-faced 

 man cannot resist the childish inclination, 

 and he needs must trail his hand in the 

 water when the canoe glides smoothly 

 down the stream. How pure is this 

 symbol of life ! How clearly it reflects 

 the light of heaven ! Men cannot defile 



