New Walks in Old Ways 



animals are a sane and satisfied lot. 

 Certain birds of the air and fishes of 

 the sea have one ground for mating 

 and starting their young in life, and 

 another, far away, for some other pur- 

 pose best known to themselves; but 

 this is a shuttle proposition — ^just for- 

 ward and backward along well-estab- 

 lished lines. The purple martin nests 

 in the north, and winters in Central 

 America. It never occurs to him to 

 try for something better, or at least 

 different, in other corners of the earth. 

 The sea turtle swims to some distant 

 sandy shore to plant her eggs, and re- 

 turns to her accustomed waters. The 

 elephant has never even considered 

 the question of a trunk line from Cairo 

 to Capetown, but is content always 

 with his own deep jungle trail. In the 

 classic case of Christopher Columbus, 

 however, we find reflected the restless, 

 roving spirit that lurks ever in the 

 human brain. Those caravels are com- 

 monly credited with having conferred 



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