Pagina 250 de 483

"Autumn passed thus. I saw, with surprise and grief, the leaves

decay and fall, and nature again assume the barren and bleak

appearance it had worn when I first beheld the woods and the

lovely moon. Yet I did not heed the bleakness of the weather; I

was better fitted by my conformation for the endurance of cold

than heat. But my chief delights were the sight of the flowers,

the birds, and all the gay apparel of summer; when those deserted

me, I turned with more attention towards the cottagers. Their

happiness was not decreased by the absence of summer. They loved

and sympathised with one another; and their joys, depending on

each other, were not interrupted by the casualties that took

place around them. The more I saw of them, the greater became my

desire to claim their protection and kindness; my heart yearned

to be known and loved by these amiable creatures; to see their

sweet looks directed towards me with affection was the utmost

limit of my ambition.