54 WOODLAND IDYLS. 



past? If he has attempted to do what was 

 right; if he has accomplished something, be it 

 much or little, for the betterment of the world ; 

 if he can feel at times within himself a glow of 

 satisfaction at having lived, then should the 

 spot where he did live be sacred and he should 

 revere it not for itself but for its associations. 



To-day the Neonymphas flit by as they did 

 ten, yea, a thousand years ago; not the same 

 ones, but the life eternal which was begotten 

 by their ancestors. In my case it is the same 

 entity with new cells; the same individual with 

 more experience, a greater sympathy for the 

 mistakes and follies of youth, a greater reverence 

 for the old, a greater regret for the years that 

 have gone, for the deeds that were dreamed, not 

 done. 



And you my boulders gray, you too have 

 changed. The ceaseless sweep of the free pure 

 air above, the coming and going of summer's 

 rain and heat, of winter's snow and ice have 

 lessened your bulk, have carved more deeply 

 the little pits in your surface. You have not 

 seen much of the great world beyond. You 

 know not as do I the struggles, the despairs, 

 the blasted hopes, the longings, the joys of 

 minor successes, the cries of the unfortunate, 

 the pall of death. Your years are largely repe- 

 titions of themselves. Time, the ceaseless, is to 

 you unknown. The Augusts bring to you the 



