64 WOODLAND - IDYLS. 



in the great battle of life. Leave a shred or a 

 fibre in an old pasture like this and in a few 

 years it will by decay, become part of the 

 earth's mold, then grass, then perchance the 

 flesh of mutton or beef, then part of a human, 

 perhaps of a so-called king, for export cattle 

 grow r on these hills. Or better than a king per- 

 chance it may in time form a part of the cere- 

 bral cells of some great thinker or statesman, 

 and so have a place in the ruling of the world; 

 that is, the ruling of mankind, for no man's 

 brain can rule the world. Is it too far-fetched, 

 therefore, to imagine that a shred from the 

 frayed edge at the bottom of my old trousers 

 may, in the course of a few decades, have some- 

 what to do with the destinies of nations ? Any- 

 how, why not wear them to the woods and give 

 that shred a chance? 



