The Celestial Railroad Author:Nathaniel Hawthorne "Very probably! And what effect could be anticipated from such unsubstantial stuff?" cried Mr. Smooth-it-away. "You observe this convenient bridge. We obtained a sufficient foundation for it by throwing into the slough some editions of books of morality, volumes of French philosophy and German rationalism; tracts, sermons, and essays of modern c... more »lergymen; extracts from Plato, Confucius, and various Hindoo sages together with a few ingenious commentaries upon texts of Scripture,?all of which by some scientific process, have been converted into a mass like granite. The whole bog might be filled up with similar matter."« less