THE NIGHT-SIDE OF NA TURE. 207 



sermon of the past half-century, with variations, 

 was preached, and ended with the usual pero- 

 ration, " Brethren, is this not true ? " With the 

 asking of that question Smalltown was shaken 

 to its foundations, for the blacksmith quickly 

 shouted, " No ! " and straightway retired. That 

 minister had no faith in the skill of the black- 

 smith ; the latter placed no confidence in the 

 preacher's logic. I do not defend the blacksmith, 

 but, somehow, when I heard the story, I was 

 otherwise than shocked. There is a bit of 

 harshness in it, perhaps, but the remark must 

 needs be made : Pin not too much faith upon 

 defective memory ; and it may be rightfully added, 

 there is nothing but reasonableness in the sugges- 

 tion that he who presumes to know all things is 

 no safe authority upon any. 



of Mature. 



NOT long since I checked the flow of a di- 

 minutive brook that barely trickled over a most 

 tortuous course, and during midsummer was 

 often a thing forgotten. By building a dam I 

 raised a shallow pond about two hundred feet 

 square, and nowhere more than eighteen inches 

 deep, save at its outlet. Here are now growing 



