32 LETTERS FROM FLORIDA.
a human being-eating away courage, energy, self-
reliance, and independence I To lift up and purify,
to encourage and ennoble any portion of the human
race-is not that even a more blessed work than to
repair the waste places of earth, and make "the wil-
derness bud and blossom like the rose" ?
 But think what it would be to unite the two la
bors I What nobler work can any one desire than to
strengthen the weak, heal the sick, feed the hungry,
find homes for the homeless, and transform into self-
supportihg men and women those who now overtax
our sympathies and drain our purses, without securing
any permanent relief. And add to all this that, by
the very act of relieving these unfortunate people, the
ruined villages are rebuilt, and the beauty and pro-
ductiveness which God has given to this country are
in a promising way to be richly developed.
 But while such visions rise before one of *what
this land, now crippled and defaced by the ravages of
war and the neglect that must follow it, might be
made in a few years with proper care and resolute in-
dustry, and the hosts of sufferers that might be trans-
formed into useful, happy citizens, one must not
make the common mistake of supposing that this
transformation can be effected without hard work-
without much fatigue and some discouragements.
Such drawbacks are met with in every pursuit, in
every undertaking. Often many days of hard- work
are lost through inexperience; but such losses should
teach lessons that seldom need to be repeated, and
therefore such experience is not dearly purchased,