London to John O 1 Groat's. 249 



have had the heart to wall it in from the reach of thirsty 

 travellers. No such man was meant in the blessing ; 

 nor any man resident in or near the valley. It was he 

 who was " passing through " it, and who stopped, not 

 to search for a dribbling vein of water to satisfy his 

 own momentary thirst, but to make a well, broad and 

 deep, after the oriental circumference, at which all 

 future travellers that way might drink with gladness. 

 That was the man on whom the blessing rested as a 

 condition, not as a wish. Look at the word, and get the 

 right meaning of it. It is *ntt?N, not 7j:n3 ; it is a 

 blessedness, not a benediction. It means a permanent 

 reality of happiness, like that of Obededom, not a cheap 

 "thank you!" or "the Lord bless you!" from here 

 and there a man or woman who appreciates the bene- 

 faction. 



And he deserves the same who, " passing through " 

 the short years of man's life here on earth, plants trees, 

 like the living, lofty columns of this long cathedral 

 aisle. How unselfish and generous is this gift to 

 coming generations ! How inestimable in its value 

 and surpassing the worth of wealth ! surpassing the 

 measurement of gold and silver ! From my seat here, 

 I look up to the magnificent frontage of that baronial 

 palace. I see its towers, turrets and minarets ; its 

 grand and sculptured gateways and portals through 



