C 53 ] 



the most opaque reflect the heavens from their sur- 

 face. Some men have their eyes naturally intended 

 to the one and some to the other object. Two men 

 in a skiff, whom we passed hereabouts, floating 

 buoyantly amid the reflections of the trees, like a 

 feather in mid-air, or a leaf which is wafted gently 

 from its twig to the water without turning over, 

 seemed still in their element, and to have delicately 

 availed themselves of the natural laws. Their float- 

 ing there was a beautiful and successful experiment 

 in natural philosophy, and it served to ennoble in 

 our eyes the art of navigation; for as birds fly and 

 fishes swim, so these men sailed. It reminded us how 

 much fairer and nobler all the actions of man might 

 be, and that our life in its whole economy might be 

 as beautiful as the fairest works of art or nature. 

 Concord and Merrimack Rivers, 47, 48, 



