city.[176] A man leaves his house in the evening in order to be present
at performances in which I am willing to believe that everything bears
the stamp of nobleness and grandeur, or at least of a pure and wholesome
taste. He experiences keen enjoyment, and that of an elevated kind. The
spectacle over, he returns to his dwelling, and at a still later hour he
retires at length to his repose. He has not long extinguished his
luxurious tapers, perhaps, when other men, who have slept while others
were seeking amusement, rise before daylight, and, lighting their small
lanterns, go forth to succor the unfortunate, without witnesses and
without ostentation.

I have taken this example from Xavier de Maistre. Let me give you
another from scenes more familiar to ourselves. You know those pure
summer mornings, when one may truly say that the Alp smiles and that the
mountain invites. A young man quits his dwelling at the first dawning of
the day, in his hand the tourist's staff, and his countenance beaming
with joy. He starts on a mountain excursion. All day long he quaffs the
pure air with delight, revels in the freedom of the pasture-grounds, in
the view of the lofty summits and of the distant horizons. He reposes in
the shade of the forest, drinks at the spring from the rock, and when he
has gazed on the Alpine chain resplendent in the radiance of the setting
sun, he lingers still to see--


Twilight its farewell to the hills delaying.[177]


Noble enjoyments! This young man enjoys because he loves. The spectacle
of the creation speaks to his heart and elevates his thoughts. He loves
that enchanting nature, which blends in a marvellous union the