in the Pacific. The one takes on other streams, its volume steadily
swells; before it flows far its channel is hewed through fertile fields;
gaining in power, the argosies of commerce find a home upon its broad
bosom, and it is a recognized power in the world, a mighty factor in the
calculations of merchants and shippers.

"But in the meantime it becomes tainted, until at last when it finds its
grave in the Gulf, so foul are its waters that they discolor for miles
the deep blue of the sea.

"The other starts with a babble as joyous as the carols of childhood;
when it reaches the valley it begins its struggle through a lava-blasted
desert; when the desert is passed, it has to grind its channel through
rugged mountains that tear its waters into foam, and at last in mighty
throes, on the stormy bar it finds its grave in the roaring ocean. Its
existence is one long, mighty struggle; there are awful chasms in its
path into which it is hurled; the thirsty desert encroaches upon its
current; mountains block its way; at the very last furious seas seek to
beat it back, but to the end it holds itself pure as when it starts on
its way from the mountain spring.

"These rivers are typical of men and of nations. Some meet no
obstruction; they glide on, gaining in wealth and power; at last, they
become in one way a blessing, in another a terror; but in the meantime,
they grow corrupt because of the world's contact; and so pass, gross and
discolored, into eternity.

"Others have lives that are one long struggle unheard-of obstacles are
ever rising in their paths, but they fight on and on, and when at last
their course is run, those who trace them through their careers, with
uncovered heads are bound to say that they kept their integrity to the
last, and that all the world's discouragements could not disarm their
power, break their courage, or dim the clear mirror of their purity."

Sedgwick ceased speaking, but after a moment, looking up, he added: "Not
very far from the sources of these two streams, there is another fountain
in the hills, out of which flows another stream as large and fair as
either of the others. It, too, goes tumbling down the mountain gorge,
increasing in volume, until it strikes the valley, then grows less and
less in size, until a few miles below it disappears in the sands.

"This, too, is typical of men and nations. They begin life buoyant and
brave; they rush on exultingly at first, but the quicksands of v