The Rescue of an Old Place 



Wait! 



Counsel of 

 thf trtts. 



shade of trees a hundred years old, I hear 

 the echo far above me of that tender cry, 

 in a solemn whisper : " Wait ! They, too, 

 shall be as we are, giants in their day. 

 What matters it that thy little life will be 

 long over ? for thee the weeds and battle, 

 for others the shade and rest. Plant 

 thou ! that is thy mission, and the joy of 

 him who reaps the fruit of thy labors shall 

 be no greater than thine. Knowest thou 

 not, O thou of little faith, that to look 

 forward is the best of joys ? Thy reward 

 is renewed to thee daily in thy hope. 

 Learn patience, and content thy soul." 



And so the young trees and the old 

 alike, give counsel to him who can under- 

 stand their language, whether he bends to 

 listen to the soft voice at his feet, or lifts 

 his head to catch the diapason of the over- 

 arching forest ; encouraged by the lesson, 

 we take up our burden anew in our 

 case the burden of a watering-pot and 

 do battle with the drought with a braver 

 heart and sturdier resolution. 

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