ing
to be closed, breaks up a wonted occupation or a household or style of
living, and allows the formation of new ones more friendly to the growth
of character. It permits or constrains the formation of new
acquaintances, and the reception of new influences that prove of the
first importance to the next years; and the man or woman who would have
remained a sunny garden flower, with no room for its roots and too much
sunshine for its head, by the falling of the walls and the neglect of
the gardener is made the banian of the forest, yielding shade and fruit
to wide neighbourhoods of men."

[Sidenote: Upon the Upland Ways]

That life alone is worth the living which sets itself upon the upland
ways. To steel one's self against joy to be spared the inevitable hurt,
is not life. We are afraid of love, because the might and terror of it
has sometimes brought despair. We are afraid of belief, because our
trust has been betrayed. We are afraid of death, because we have seen
forgetfulness.

We should not fear that someone might take our place in the heart that
loves us best--if we were only loved enough. The same love is never
given twice; it differs in quality if not in degree, and when once made
one's own, is never to be lost.

There are some natures whose happiness is a matter of persons and
things; some to love and some to be loved; the daily needs amply
satisfied, and that is enough for content.

There are others with whom persons and things do not suffice, whose love
is vital, elemental, and indestructible. It has no beginning and no end;
it simply is. With this the Grey Angel has no power; the grave is robbed
of its victory and death of its sting.

"Love never denied Death and Death will not deny Love." When the bond is
of that finer sort which does not rely upon presence for its permanence,
there is little bereavement to be felt. For mutely, like a guardian
angel, that other may live with us still; not as a shadowy presence,
but rather as a dear reality.

That little mound of earth upon the distant hill, over which the sun and
stars pass in endless sequence, and where the quiet is unbroken through
the change of spring to autumn, and the change of autumn to spring, has
not the power to destroy love, but rather to make it more sure.

The one who sleeps is forever beyond the reach of doubt and
misunderstanding. Separation, estrangement, and bitterness, which are
sometimes concealed in the cup that Life and Love ha