“It is true, my friend.”
“Take him, Padrone, in Heaven's name, and the fields will grow gold.”
“I will think of it, for it must require management to catch such a boy,” said Riccabocca. “Meanwhile, light a candle in the parlor, and bring from my bedroom—that great folio of Machiavelli.”
The Two Guides Of The Child. (From Dickens's Household Words.)
A spirit near me said, “Look forth upon the Land of Life. What do you see?”
“Steep mountains, covered by a mighty plain, a table-land of many-colored beauty. Beauty, nay, it seems all beautiful at first, but now I see that there are some parts barren.”
“Are they quite barren?—look more closely still!”
“No, in the wildest deserts, now, I see some gum-dropping acacias, and the crimson blossom of the cactus. But there are regions that rejoice abundantly in flower and fruit; and now, O Spirit, I see men and women moving to and fro.”
“Observe them, mortal.”