from prejudice. Strength was condensed into clear law with them--as

sinew boils down into jelly--and character carried out its force as the

stamp of solid impress. What the father had been, the son became, as the

generation squared itself, and the slates for the children to do their

copies were the tombstones of their granddads. Thus brave Etruria grew,

and thus the Rome which was not built in a day became the flower of the

world, and girt in unity of self seven citadels.

There was Roman blood--of the Tenth Legion, perhaps--in the general

vein of Springhaven. There was scarcely a man who pretended to know much

outside of his own business, and there was not a woman unable to

wait (when her breath was quite gone) for sound reason. Solidity,

self-respect, pure absence of frivolous humor, ennobled the race and

enabled them to hold together, so that everybody not born in Springhaven

might lament, but never repair, his loss.

This people had many ancient rules befitting a fine corporation, and

among them were the following: "Never do a job for a stranger; sleep in

your own bed when you can; be at home in good time on a Saturday; never

work harder than you need; throw your fish away rather than undersell

it; answer no question, but ask another; spend all your money among your

friends; and above all, never let any stranger come a-nigh your proper

fishing ground, nor land any fish at Springhaven."

These were golden laws, and made a snug and plump community. From the

Foreland to the Isle of Wight their nets and lines were sacred, and no

other village could be found so thriving, orderly, well-conducted, and

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