sober, black, italic type, I remember a good saying of old Michel de
Montaigne in one of his essays,--not the exact words, but the soul of
his remarks. He says that we cannot judge whether a man has been truly
fortunate in life until we have seen him act with tranquillity and
contentment in the last scene of his comedy, which is undoubtedly the
most difficult. For himself, he adds, his chief study and desire is
that he may well behave himself at his last gasp, that is quietly and
constantly. It is a good saying; for life has no finer lesson to teach
us than how to leave off."
"I wish you would promise me one thing," said I to my Uncle Peter:
"that you will not leave off before I do."
"Ah," he answered, "that is the one thing that no man can promise
another. We can promise not to break friendship, not to cut loose, not
to cease loving, not to forget. Isn't that enough?"
He stood up reverently and bared his head. The music of the long-metre
doxology was floating through the open windows.
"Listen," he said. "If that is true, what more do we need? We are all
in His hand."
BOOKS BY HENRY VAN DYKE
PUBLISHED BY CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
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The Ruling Passion. Illustrated in color $1.50
The Blue Flower. Illustrated in color $1.50
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Little Rivers. Illustrated in color $1.50
Fisherman's Luck. Illustrated in color $1.50
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The Builders, and Other Poems $1.00
Music, and Other Poems net $1.00
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