eager feet, new interests crop up, new
relations are formed, and the old tie gets worn away, from want of
adding fresh strands to it. We may believe the advice about not
forsaking an old friend because the new is not comparable to him, but
we can neglect it by merely letting things slip past, which if used
would be a new bond of union.

As it is easier for some temperaments to make friends, it is easier for
some dispositions to keep them. Little faults of manner, little
occasions of thoughtlessness, or lack of the little courtesies, do more
to separate people than glaring mistakes. There are some men so built
that it is difficult to remain on very close terms with them, there are
so many corners to knock against. Even strength of character, if
unmodified by sweetness of disposition, adds to the difficulty of
pulling together. Strong will can so easily develop into self-will;
decision can become dogmatism; wit, the salt of conversation, loses its
savor when it becomes ill-natured; a faculty for argument is in danger
of being mere quarrelsomeness.

The ordinary amenities of life must be preserved among friends. We can
never feel very safe with the man whose humor tends to bitter speaking
or keen sarcasm, or with the man who flares up into hasty speech at
every or no provocation, or with the man who is argumentative and
assertive,--

Who 'd rather on a gibbet dangle
Than miss his dear delight to wrangle.

There are more breaches of the peace among friends through sins of
speech, than from any other cause. We do not treat our friends with
enough respect. We make the vulgar mistake of looking upon the common
as if it were therefore cheap in nature. We ought rather to treat our
friend with a sort of sacred familiarity, as if we appreciated the
precious gift his friendship is.

Every change in a man's life brings a risk of letting go something of
the past, which it is a loss to part with. A change of work, or a
change of residence, or entrance into a larger sphere, brings a certain
engrossment which leads to neglect of the richest intercourse in the
past life. To many a man, even marriage has had a drop of bitterness
in it, because it has somehow meant the severing of old and sacred
links. This may be due to the vulgar reason of wives' quarrels, the
result of petty jealousy; but it may be due also to pre-occupation and
a subtle form of selfishness. The fire needs to be kept alive with
fuel. To preserv