shoot, for many of them already stood without fruit; but he was glad of
his slender form and of his steadfast hope. The juice, therefore, even
now gladdens the heart of man, and lifts upwards the courage of the
dejected, and refreshes the afflicted. Despair not, forsaken one, and
abide enduring. In the unsightly cane springs the sweetest juice, and
the feeble tendril brings forth inspiration and rapture.


TEARS.


As Hillel and his disciple Sadi wandered, on a moon and starlight night,
among the gardens of the Mount of Olives, "See," said Sadi, "the man
yonder, in the ray of the moon; what does he there?"--"It is Zadok,"
answered Hillel, "he sits at the grave of his son and weeps."--"Cannot
he moderate his mourning?" said the youth, "for the people term him the
just and wise."--"Shall he therefore," answered Hillel, "not experience
pain?"--"But," asked Sadi, "what preference then has the wise man before
the fool?" Then answered the teacher, "See, the bitter tear of his eye
sinks to the earth, but his countenance is turned up to heaven."

W.G.C.

* * * * *




THE SKETCH-BOOK.