141 



CHAPTER IV. 



THE RIVER. 



THERE is no object in nature, of which the associa- 

 tions are more delightful, than a river. The mountain 

 and the lake have their sublimity ; and in the economy 

 of nature they have their uses, the mountain is the 

 father of streams, and the lake is the regulator of their 

 discharge. The lofty summit attracts and breaks the 

 clouds, which would otherwise not be carried so far 

 inland, or would pass over without falling to fertilize 

 the earth. These are collected in snow, and laid up in 

 a store against the bleak drought of the spring ; and 

 as the water, into which the melting snow is gradually 

 converted during the thaw, penetrates deep into the 

 fissures of the rock, or into the porous strata of loose 

 materials, the fountains continue to pour out their 

 cooling stores during the summer. The lake, as has 

 been mentioned, prevents the waste of water which 

 would otherwise take place in mountain rivers, as well 

 as the ravage and ruin by which that waste would be 

 attended. 



These have their beauty and their value ; but they 

 can, in neither respect, be compared to the river. 

 They are fixed in their places, but that is continually 

 in motion, the emblem of life ; the source of fertility, 





