dffar&en 



be achieved in order to bring the sensory instru- 

 ments to an adequate refinement and sensitive- 

 ness to appreciate even phenomena already 

 vaguely known, and to bring the brain into a con- 

 dition of capacity to effectively command the ex- 

 ercise of reason and the subordination of senti- 

 ment and impulse into profitable bounds! And 

 the further almost infinite advancement which is 

 requisite before we can be in a position to appre- 

 ciate and understand " the unknown " is so far off 

 that we must leave it where it is, "behind the 

 veil," among the hidden secrets of nature, which 

 it is profitless for us even to try to speculate upon 

 at present. 



Instead of indulging in the luxury of grief or 

 hopelessness at our deficiencies, let us rather en- 

 deavor, like true philosophers, while fulfilling our 

 individual mission to the best of our lights, to get 

 out of our brief span such enjoyments as come 

 within our reach. Too many of these are missed 

 in the vain pursuit of those amusements which 

 George Cornewall Lewis considered render life 

 intolerable, while most of us are to each other 

 like " ships that pass in the night," and lose, often 

 172 



