The Rambles of an Idler 



and holding it up to John, said, "Heart's ease." 

 Tradition is silent a,s to John's reply but I do 

 know that forty-three years and three months 

 passed before the tie was broken. Heart's ease 

 meant much, then, in 1696, and now, in 1905, it 

 means much to me, a descendant of these sturdy 

 folk who solved the problem of life so signifi- 

 cantly. No wonder; they faced a new country 

 where novelty ruled and roused excitement to 

 its highest healthy pitch ; when every day meant 

 much and success went forward by leaps and 

 bounds. 



A new country then, and an old country now. 

 Four generations, 'twixt them and myself, have 

 done a deal of mischief from my point of view 

 have wonderfully improved matters from 

 others' standpoints. Now, my neighbors are 

 singing, "Hail! Columbia, Happy Land," while 

 I murmur, "Hail! Columbia, Virgin Soil!" and 

 think of the white woodland violet of other days 

 and rejoice to know there are a few trees left 

 that sheltered them and now are sheltering me. 



These early spring days provoke to a rem- 

 iniscential mood. The rattle of the little frogs 

 in pools and the marsh, now low, now louder, 



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