150 THE RIVER. 



that the river, in its course, washes away those sub- 

 stances, which would be hurtful to plants and animals, 

 and carries them to the great laver of the ocean, where 

 the materials of new lands are mixed and prepared. 

 Over the surface of that ocean the atmosphere spreads 

 its wings, a spirit brooding over the abyss ; and it, 

 by an imperceptible and inscrutable chemistry, sepa- 

 rates the water pure and limpid, sending it back to the 

 mountains to feed the springs; and thus the river, 

 which otherwise would run completely dry in a very 

 short time, is kept in perpetual flow. It is thus hidden 

 for a time in the ocean, but it is not lost; it enters 

 there, foul with the course which it has run upon earth, 

 and it ascends again, purified by the breath of heaven. 

 Just so with man : the faculties of the body are laid 

 and lost in the dust ; but the Spirit from on high calls 

 him up again, pure and immortal, equally safe from 

 the contamination of the world, and the corruption of 

 the tomb* 



Even that little nook is an emblem of life ; so true is 

 it that nature is beset with tongues, if we would but 

 cease our own idle noise and listen to them. There 

 are the activity, the flowers, and the weeds of life in 

 that little rapid and struggle ; there is the calmness 

 of the grave in that smooth, dark, and stilly pool ; 

 and the weeping willow is both a monument and a 

 mourner. The wind is on the pool, however ; it has 

 shaken the May-flies from the pendent boughs of the 

 willow ; the little things are struggling upon the 

 waters ; and mark those boiling circles ! the trout 

 hastens to the feast. One plunge after another, and 

 every plunge is the death-note of a fly. Well may 



