Page:The open Polar Sea- a narrative of a voyage of discovery towards the North pole, in the schooner "United States" (IA openpolarseanarr1867haye).pdf/348

"ALL IS VANITY." the future, for we willingly forget the present in the anticipations,—in the delights to come from the contests and struggles ahead; and it is well that this is so; for that which we spend most time in getting is often not worth the having. The Preacher tells us that "All is vanity;" and what says the Poet?—

    "——pleasures are like poppies spread;
You seize the flower—its bloom is shed;
Or like the snow-fall in the river—
A moment white, then melts forever;
Or like the borealis race,
That flits ere you can point the place."