Pagina 160 de 483

A tingling long-lost sense of pleasure often came across me

during this journey. Some turn in the road, some new object

suddenly perceived and recognised, reminded me of days gone by,

and were associated with the lighthearted gaiety of boyhood. The

very winds whispered in soothing accents, and maternal Nature

bade me weep no more. Then again the kindly influence ceased to

act-I found myself fettered again to grief and indulging in all

the misery of reflection. Then I spurred on my animal, striving

so to forget the world, my fears, and more than all, myself-or,

in a more desperate fashion, I alighted and threw myself on the

grass, weighed down by horror and despair.