The Young Lady's Counsellor by Daniel Wise

INFLUENCE. 69
, sigh of regret or a pang of sorrow. When the evi]
»ork is done, she weeps over the wTeck, and would
2"ive the gold of the world to restore the fallen one.
Vet for her share in causing this destruction she sheds
not a tear ; indeed, she is unconscious that any portion
of the blame lies at her door. Her influence
was silent and invisible when in exercise, and 3'et it
drove her brother to
ruin.
Another peculiarity of influence is the distance of
the effect from the cause. Vears will often elapse
between the sowing of the seed and the ripening of
the fruit — between the uttered thought, the angiy
{glance, or the decisive act, and its result. Longfellow
has a beautiful illustration of this, in one of his
poems. He bids you stand on the bright greensward
! Shoot an arrow into the air ! You
watch
Its upward flight, as it cleaves the sky; but its fall is
so swift that your eye fails to detect its resting-place.
Vou search in vain to find it, and pronounce it lost.
Long, long afterward, while wandering over the field,
you perceive the lost shaft entire, sticking in an
aged oak.