'
I can give no reason why these lines came to me at this time; and
for that very cause I repeat them here. For all I know, they may
serve to complete the impression in the mind of the reader, as they
were certainly a part of it for me.
And this happened to me in the place of all others where I liked
least to stay. When I think of it I grow ashamed of my own
ingratitude. 'Out of the strong came forth sweetness.' There, in
the bleak and gusty North, I received, perhaps, my strongest
impression of peace. I saw the sea to be great and calm; and the
earth, in that little corner, was all alive and friendly to me.
So, wherever a man is, he will find something to please and pacify
him: in the town he will meet pleasant faces of men and women, and
see beautiful flowers at a window, or hear a cage-bird singing at
the corner of the gloomiest street; and for the country, there is
no country without some amenity--let him only look for it in the
right spirit, and he will surely find.
Footnotes:
{1} The Second Part here referred to is entitled 'ACROSS THE
PLAINS,' and is printed in the volume so entitled, together with
other Memories and Essays.
{2} I had nearly finished the transcription of the following pages
when I saw on a friend's table the number containing the piece from
which this sentence is extracted, and, struck with a similarity of
title, took it home with me and read it with indescribable
satisfaction.
Pages:
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
266
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276