Fam] AND SYMBOLS. 117 



from the huntsmen or drivers ; and when the cords are passed 

 round- his legs, they will even assist in fastening them. How 

 similar is all this to the efforts which those who have become 

 slaves to habit and sin put forth in order to reduce other per- 

 sons into a like bondage ! R. 



Obstacles to Falling 1 . 



Since a body falls to the ground in consequence of the earth's 

 attraction on each of its molecules, it follows that, everything 

 else being the same, all bodies, great and small, light and heavy, 

 ouglifc to fall with equal rapidity, and a lump of sand without 

 cohesion should, during its fall, retain its original form as per- 

 fectly as if it were compact stone. The fact that a stone falls 

 more rapidly than a feather is due solely to the unequal resist- 

 ances opposed by the air to the descent of these bodies. The 

 resistance opposed by the air to falling bodies is especially 

 remarkable in the case of liquids. The Staubbach in Switzer 

 land is a good illustration. An immense mass of water is seen 

 falling over a high precipice, but before reaching the bottom i 

 is shattered by the air into the finest mist. In a vacuum 

 however, liquids fall like solids without separation of their 

 molecules. The resistance opposed by the customs and ethics 

 of society is the reason why many men are deterred in a 

 rapid fall into ruin. Take away all the resistance which eti 

 quette, conventional morality, philanthropy, and religion, offer 

 to the downfall of men, and, like things in a vacuum, how 

 sadly fast the descent would become. Many men in respect- 

 able elevation owe their adventitious position to the happy 

 accident of strong resistance offered to their fall by the circum- 

 stances and influences surrounding. EL. 



Unlike the Family. 



"We are sometimes in human society startled to find a mem- 

 ber of a family utterly unlike every other member of it in 

 character, appearance, and habits. No ancestor can be dis- 

 covered to bear resemblance to him. This is strange ; but the 

 peach-tree can tell a stranger story. Occasionally, at long 

 intervals of time, a peach-tree in England, or under the widely 



