TIME AND CHANGE 



stone that is much knocked about gets its sharp 

 angles worn off, as do men. "A rolling stone gathers 

 no moss," which is not bad for the stone, as moss 

 hastens decay. *' Killing two birds with one stone" 

 is a bad saying, because it reminds boys to stone the 

 birds, which is bad for both boys and birds. But 

 ** People who live in glass houses should not throw 

 stones" is on the right side of the account, as it dis- 

 courages stone-throwing and reminds us that we 

 are no better than our neighbors. 



The lesson in running brooks is that motion is a 

 great purifier and health-producer. When the brook 

 ceases to run, it soon stagnates. It keeps in touch 

 with the great vital currents when it is in motion, 

 and unites with other brooks to help make the river. 

 In motion it soon leaves all mud and sediment be- 

 hind. Do not proper work and the exercise of will 

 power have the same effect upon our lives? 



The other day in my walk I came upon a sap- 

 bucket that had been left standing by the maple 

 tree all the spring and summer. What a bucketful 

 of corruption was that, a mixture of sap and rain- 

 water that had rotted, and smelled to heaven. Mice 

 and birds and insects had been drowned in it, and 

 added to its unsavory character. It was a bit of Na- 

 ture cut off from the vitalizing and purifying chem- 

 istry of the whole. With what satisfaction I emp- 

 tied it upon the ground while I held my nose and 

 saw it filter into the turf, where I knew it was dying 



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