Heaven is blest with perfect rest, but the blessing of Earth is toil.

For real company and friendship, there is nothing outside the animal kingdom that is comparable to a river.

There is no conflict between the Old and the New; the conflict is between the False and the True.

These are the things I prize And hold of dearest worth: Light of the sapphire skies, Peace of the silent hills, Shelter of the forests, comfort of the grass, Music of birds, murmur of little rills, Shadows of cloud that swiftly pass, And, after showers, The smell of flowers And of the good brown earth,- And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.

It is with rivers as it is with people: the greatest are not always the most agreeable nor the best to live with.

A river is the most human and companionable of all inanimate things. It has a life, a character, a voice of its own; and it is as full of good fellowship as a sugar maple is of sap. It can talk in various tones, loud or low, and of many subjects grave and gay.... For real company and friendship there is nothing, outside of the animal kingdom, that is comparable to a river.

One truly affectionate soul in a family will evert a sweetening and harmonizing influence upon all its members.