THE MANSE GARDEN. 51 



have in hand too serious and important labours for 

 admitting of any diversion by things trivial and 

 temporary your pleading is met by the analogy of 

 material things : the ground will not bear the same 

 kind of produce for any length of time, and art, 

 having made the discovery, adopts a succession of 

 crops. The natural forest is never succeeded by 

 trees of the same species, showing, where no art is 

 used, that nature will not give birth to a progeny for 

 which she does not provide the resources of strength. 

 You propose, by a contrary course, to yield always 

 the same sort of fruit ; and the consequence will be, 

 that, wearing out yourself, your productions will in 

 a short time become sickly and weak, and, should 

 you not discover their deteriorated quality, you will 

 soon lose the gratification of doing what you esteem 

 your first duty, by losing the power of doing any 

 thing whatever. You will become bilious ; and 

 then farewell to study and ah 1 its charms to walks, 

 and the music of the brook, where you pondered the 

 same theme to duty and all its rewards to every 

 thing that sooths or delights, the face of friend, 

 the look of love, the soft cheek and guileless tongue 

 of babes farewell to all, but horrid apathy, and 

 pitchy gloom, and long night watching, or the dream 

 in which you know not whether you are man or 

 beast, wood or stone. 



If in such a condition to find deliverance you would 

 submit to any terras, think it not hard to adopt those 

 which, as they are easy, are able also to save from 

 such a calamity. Have first a sense of the might 

 and steadfastness of those laws which belong to your 

 constitution, and which the almighty Founder of 



