IN THE FIRELIGHT 229 



now burning with the even heat of steady, 

 rational life, now settling into a contemplat 

 ive glow of meditation. 



In the circle of the hearth everything is 

 good, but reminiscences are best of all. I 

 sometimes think all life is valuable merely as 

 an opportunity to accumulate reminiscences, 

 and I am sure that the precious horde can be 

 seen to best advantage by firelight. Then is 

 the time for the miser to spread out his treas 

 ure and admire it. I remember once Jona 

 than and I were on a bicycle trip. My chain 

 had broken and we had trudged eight long, 

 hot, dusty miles to the river that had to be 

 crossed that night. It was dark when we 

 reached it, and it had begun to rain, a warm, 

 dreary drizzle. As we stumbled over the rail 

 way track and felt our way past the little 

 station toward the still smaller ferry-house, 

 a voice from the darkness drawled, &quot;Guess 

 ye won t git the ferry to-night last boat 

 went half an hour ago.&quot; 



It was the final blow. We leaned forlornly 

 on our wheels and looked out upon the dark 

 water, whose rain-quenched mirror dully re 

 flected the lights of the opposite town. Finally 



