tions of the ancient mythology
are but representations of something in the heart of man!... What is the
end of man? Infinite contradictions--all opposites blended into one--a
mass of confused, broken parts, of disjointed fragments--such _is_ he.
The circumstances that surround him--the events that happen unto him,
are no less strange. What shall be the end? Oh then, abyss of futurity,
declare it! unfold thy dark depths--let a voice come up from thy cloudy
infinite--let a ray penetrate thy unfathomable profound. If we could
but _rest_ till the question is decided! if we could but float softly on
the current of time till we reach the haven! But no, we must _act_. We
must _do_ something. _I_ must do something _now_--WHAT?

_Evening._ But as the morning. In the afternoon I was talking with L.
W. [13] with as much eagerness and vivacity as if I had never known a
cloud. This evening I was going to a _dance_ at the _Insane_ Hospital.
For me truly it has been a day of opposites--all the elements of life
have met and mingled in it.

_Wednesday, 26th._--The end of man, says Carlyle, is an action, not a
thought. This is partly true, though all noble action has its root in
thought. Thought, indeed, in its true and highest sense, _is_ action. It
is never lost. If uttered, it may breathe inspiration into a thousand
minds and become the impulse to ten thousand good actions. If unuttered,
and terminating in no single outward act, it yet has an emanative
influence; it impregnates the man and makes itself felt in his life. A
man can not do so noble and godlike a thing as to think, without being
the better for it. Indeed, the distinction between thought and action is
not always an accurate one. Many thoughts deserve the name of activities
much better than certain movements of the muscles and changes of the
outward organization which we denominate actions. In this sense, it is
better of the two to think without acting than to act without thinking.

Mrs. Hopkins was the author of the following works, intended mostly for
the young. Some of them have had a wide circulation. They are written in
an attractive style and breathe the purest spirit of Christian love and
wisdom: 1. The Pastor's Daughter. 2. Lessons on the Book of Proverbs. 3.
The Young Christian Encouraged. 4. Henry Langdon; or, What Was I Made
For? 5. The Guiding Star; or, The Bible God's Message; a Sequel to Henry
Langdon. 6. The Silent Comforter; a Companion for the Sick-room. A