Dis] AND SYMBOLS, 87 



and character. Certain, however, it is that where opportunities 

 for the exercise of that power have been wanting, and where the 

 man has not been brought under suitable conditions, his faculties 

 have dwindled into insignificance, or become abnormally dis- 

 torted in their growth. A stunted moral and physical manhood 

 is inevitably the result of certain conditions of existence which 

 can easily be named : and the converse is also true. IL. 



Directness of Course. 



The Lemmings are natives of the mountains of Lapland, where 

 they feed on mosses and lichens. At very irregular dates the 

 Lemmings migrate in immense numbers, and make their way 

 towards the south in crowded columns. It seems as if they 

 were drawn on by some irresistible power towards a certain 

 fixed point, so straight is the character of their march. They 

 never go round any obstacle, except when it is absolutely im- 

 possible to surmount it, and then, as soon as the impediment 

 is past, they again take 'their former direction. If a large rick 

 of hay happens to stand in their path, they bore right into it, 

 and make a thoroughfare through it. If a boat is moored in a 

 river, and thus crosses their direct road, they will climb over it 

 and take to swimming again on the other side of it. They are 

 not only determined to pursue directness of purpose, but also 

 directness of course. It is an old proverb that " sometimes the 

 longest way round is the shortest way home." They are never 

 influenced by such a consideration. There are human minds 

 which, in this peculiarity, resemble the Lemmings. They will 

 have not only a direct purpose, but also a straight road to it. 

 No ingenuity is ever called into play to avoid an unnecessary 

 difficulty. A blunt honesty requires them to move in one line 

 only. To them the line of march seems of as much importance 

 as their destination. M. 



The Influence of Disappointment. 



After many disappointments we cannot do our work well. 

 We are disheartened. The poetry of life has departed. With 

 the loss of our hopes was the loss of our love. The bird whose 



