sight into the force of friendship
in ordinary life, with added wonder at the miracle of it. He is the
poet of comrades, and sings the song of companionship more than any
other theme. He ever comes back to the lifelong love of comrades. The
mystery and the beauty of it impressed him.

O tan-faced prairie-boy,
Before you came to camp came many a welcome gift,
Praises and presents came and nourishing food,
till at last among the recruits
_You_ came, taciturn, with nothing to give--we
but looked on each other,
When lo! more than all the gifts of the world you gave me.

After all, in spite of the vulgar materialism of our day, we do feel
that the spiritual side of life is the most important, and brings the
only true joy. And friendship in its essence is spiritual. It is the
free, spontaneous outflow of the heart, and is a gift from the great
Giver.

Friends are born, not made. At least it is so with the higher sort.
The marriage of souls is a heavenly mystery, which we cannot explain,
and which we need not try to explain. The method by which it is
brought about differs very much, and depends largely on temperament.
Some friendships grow, and ripen slowly and steadily with the years.
We cannot tell where they began, or how. They have become part of our
lives, and we just accept them with sweet content and glad confidence.
We have discovered that somehow we are rested, and inspired, by a
certain companionship; that we understand and are understood easily.

Or it may come like love at first sight, by the thrill of elective
affinity. This latter is the more uncertain, and needs to be tested
and corrected by the trial of the years that follow. It has to be
found out whether it is really spiritual kinship, or mere emotional
impulse. It is a matter of temper and character. A naturally reserved
person finds it hard to open his heart, even when his instinct prompts
him; while a sociable, responsive nature is easily companionable. It
is not always this quick attachment, however, which wears best, and
that is the reason why youthful friendships have the character of being
so fickle. They are due to a natural instinctive delight in society.
Most young people find it easy to be agreeable, and are ready to place
themselves under new influences.

But whatever be the method by which a true friendship is formed,
whether the growth of time or the birth of sudden sympathy, there
seems, on looking ba