96 
BRAMBLES AND BAY LEAVES. 
series of minute facts. Take the instance of tlie foun¬ 
tain :•—in this, the rising jet of water consists of a 
number of particles, all spherical in form, which, as they 
ascend, gradually increase in breadth, and at last bend 
over in the form of a parabola and descend to the basin. 
The velocity continually decreases from the point where 
the jet first rushes forth to the point where it bends 
over in a graceful curve, and it is this decrease of velocity 
in ascending which gives the column of water its taper¬ 
ing form,—for it always tapers downwards from a broad 
convex sheet to a thin compressed jet. This downward 
tapering of the column and parabolic outline of the 
falling summit are what most readily strike us as beauti¬ 
ful in a fountain, and these phenomena are simply the 
result of the opposing forces of the rising jet and attrac¬ 
tion of the earth. The prismatic colours and the rich 
musical tones also combine to complete the harmony,— 
and thus the idea of the fountain is the result of an 
assemblage of details, each of which contributes au 
essential part of the whole. 
Man, too, is a part of this; his soul is a part of the 
great soul which pervades Nature ; and to every beat of 
his heart the great heart of the universe answers with a 
kindred throb. By his relationship to outward things, 
he is enabled to comprehend them, and, in. so doing, he 
finds that the laws of the external world are consistent 
with the thoughts within himself. Does such a conclu¬ 
sion make him dread mortality? if so, let him trust the 
history of his soul to faith, which is as much above 
reason as reason is above the brute matter on which it 
impresses its speaking image. If the “ clodded earth,” 
