scene entirely new; there I stand and lose myself for half an hour in
gazing and in thinking. Yes, good friend, envy no man in the rank of
scholars. Look at me; I am almost always ill; and what a burden is a
sickly body! How strong, on the contrary, are you! I am never happier
than when, without being remarked, I can watch a dinner-table thronged
by hungry men and maids. Even if these folks be not generally so happy
as their superiors, at table they are certainly happier."

"Yes, sir; we relish our eating and drinking. And, lately, when felling
and sorting that wood below, I was more than usually lively; it seems
as though I had a notion I was to do some good with it."

"And must I permit you to make me a present?" asked Gellert, resting his
chin upon his left hand.

The peasant answered: "It is not worth talking about."

"Nay, it might be well worth talking about; but I accept your present.
It is pride not to be ready to accept a gift. Is not all we have a gift
from God? And what one man gives another, he gives, as is most
appropriately said, for God's sake. Were I your minister, I should be
pleased to accept a present from you. You see, good friend, we men have
no occasion to thank each other. You have given me nothing of yours, and
I have given you nothing of mine. That the trees grow in the forest is
none of your doing, it is the work of the Creator and Preserver of the
world; and the soil is not yours; and the sun and the rain are not
yours; they all are the works of His hand; and if, perchance, I have
some healthy thoughts rising up in my soul, which benefit my fellow-men,
it is none of mine, it is His doing. The word is not mine, and the
spirit is not mine; and I am but an instrument in His hand. Therefore