ables him to do
for himself. In this way she has made a man of him; she has given him
his resources and then thrown him upon them. Beyond that she cares
nothing, does nothing, provides, arranges nothing. I used to think, for
instance, that the greenness of the earth was intended for his
eyes--all the loveliness of spring. On the contrary, she merely gave
him an eye which has adapted itself to get pleasure out of the
greenness. The beauty of spring would have been the same, year after
year, century after century, had he never existed. And the blue of the
sky--I used to think it was hung about the earth for his sake; and the
colors of the clouds, the great sunsets. But the blueness of the sky is
nothing but the dust of the planet floating deep around it, too light
to sink through the atmosphere, but reflecting the rays of the sun.
These rays fall on the clouds and color them. It would all have been
so, had Man never been born. The earth's springs of drinking water,
refreshing showers, the rainbow on the cloud,--they would have been the
same, had no human being ever stood on this planet to claim them for
ages as the signs of providence and of covenant."

Gabriella had her own faith as to the rainbow.

"So, none of the other animals was made for Man," resumed David, who
seemed to have some ulterior purpose in all this. "I used to think the
structure and nature of the ass were given him that he might be adapted
to bear Man's burdens; they were given him that he might bear his own
burdens. Horses were not made for cavalry. And a camel--I never doubted
that he was a wonderful contrivance to enable man to cross the desert;
he is a wonderful contrivance in order that the contrivance itself may
cross the desert."

"I hope I may never have to use one," said Gabriella, "when I commence
to ride again. I prefer horses and carriages--though I suppose you
would say that only the carriage was designed for me and that I had no
right to be drawn in that way."

"Some day a horse may be designed for you, just as the carriage is. We
do not use horses on railroads now; we did use them at first in
Kentucky. Sometime you may not use horses in your carriage. You may
have a horse that was designed for you."

"I think," said Gabriella, "I should prefer a horse that was designed
for itself."

"And so," resumed David, moving straight on toward his concealed
climax, "if I were a poet, I'd never write poems about flowers and
clouds and lakes a