t neither the gold nor the crystal should be spared in the
adornment of it; that, as the symbol of the Bride, the building of the
wall thereof should be of jasper, and the foundations of it garnished
with all manner of precious stones; and that, as the channel of the
Word, that triumphant utterance of the Psalmist should be true of
it--"I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all
riches?" And shall we not look with changed temper down the long
perspective of St. Mark's Place toward the sevenfold gates and glowing
domes of its temple, when we know with what solemn purpose the shafts
of it were lifted above the pavement of the populous square? Men met
there from all countries of the earth, for traffic or for pleasure;
but, above the crowd swaying forever to and fro in the restlessness of
avarice or thirst of delight, was seen perpetually the glory of the
temple, attesting to them, whether they would hear or whether they
would forbear, that there was one treasure which the merchantman might
buy without a price, and one delight better than all others, in the
word and the statutes of God.

III

OF WATER[41]

Of all inorganic substances, acting in their own proper nature, and
without assistance or combination, water is the most wonderful. If we
think of it as the course of all the changefulness and beauty which we
have seen in clouds; then as the instrument by which the earth we have
contemplated was modeled into symmetry, and its crags chiseled into
grace; then as, in the form of snow, it robes the mountains it has
made with that transcendent light which we could not have conceived if
we had not seen; then as it exists in the foam of the torrent--in the
iris which spans it, in the morning mist which rises from it, in the
deep crystalline pools which mirror its hanging shore, in the broad
lake and glancing river; finally, in that which is to all human minds
the best emblem of unwearied, unconquerable power, the wild, various,
fantastic, tameless unity of the sea; what shall we compare to this
mighty, this universal element, for glory and for beauty? or how shall
we follow its eternal changefulness of feeling: It is like trying to
paint a soul.

[Footnote 41: From "Modern Painters," Vol. II, Section V.]

To suggest the ordinary appearance of calm water--to lay on canvas as
much evidence of surface and reflection as may make us understand that
water is meant--is, perhaps, the easiest task of a