Source inexhausted of all that's precious in
our joys, or costly in our sorrows!
Thou chainest thy martyr down
upon his bed of straw - and 'tis thou who lift'st him up to Heaven!-
-Eternal Fountain of our feelings! - 'tis here I trace thee - and
this is thy "DIVINITY WHICH STIRS WITHIN ME;" - not that, in some
sad and sickening moments, "MY SOUL SHRINKS BACK UPON HERSELF, AND
STARTLES AT DESTRUCTION;" - mere pomp of words! - but that I feel
some generous joys and generous cares beyond myself; - all comes
from thee, great - great SENSORIUM of the world! which vibrates, if
a hair of our heads but falls upon the ground, in the remotest
desert of thy creation. - Touch'd with thee, Eugenius draws my
curtain when I languish - hears my tale of symptoms, and blames the
weather for the disorder of his nerves. Thou giv'st a portion of
it sometimes to the roughest peasant who traverses the bleakest
mountains; - he finds the lacerated lamb of another's flock. - This
moment I behold him leaning with his head against his crook, with
piteous inclination looking down upon it! - Oh! had I come one
moment sooner! it bleeds to death! - his gentle heart bleeds with
it. -
Peace to thee, generous swain! - I see thou walkest off with
anguish, - but thy joys shall balance it; - for, happy is thy
cottage, - and happy is the sharer of it, - and happy are the lambs
which sport about you!
THE SUPPER.
A shoe coming loose from the fore foot of the thill-horse, at the
beginning of the ascent of mount Taurira, the postilion dismounted,
twisted the shoe off, and put it in his pocket; as the ascent was
of five or six miles, and that horse our main dependence, I made a
point of having the shoe fastened on again, as well as we could;
but the postilion had thrown away the nails, and the hammer in the
chaise box being of no great use without them, I submitted to go
on.
He had not mounted half a mile higher, when, coming to a flinty
piece of road, the poor devil lost a second shoe, and from off his
other fore foot. I then got out of the chaise in good earnest; and
seeing a house about a quarter of a mile to the left hand, with a
great deal to do I prevailed upon the postilion to turn up to it.
The look of the house, and of every thing about it, as we drew
nearer, soon reconciled me to the disaster. - It was a little farm-
house, surrounded with about twenty acres of vineyard, about as
much corn; - and close to the house, on one side, was a potagerie of
an acre and a half, full of everything which could make plenty in a
French peasant's house; - and, on the other side, was a little wood,
which furnished wherewithal to dress it. It was about eight in the
evening when I got to the house - so I left the postilion to manage
his point as he could; - and, for mine, I walked directly into the
house.
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