grace of manner, and the facility with which he yielded to temptation, her
double shot proved too heavy, and fell short of the mark. Nor did her angry
dislike prevent Adrian from imaging my father, as he had said, the type of
all that was gallant, amiable, and fascinating in man. It was not strange
therefore, that when he heard of the existence of the offspring of this
celebrated person, he should have formed the plan of bestowing on them all
the advantages his rank made him rich to afford. When he found me a
vagabond shepherd of the hills, a poacher, an unlettered savage, still his
kindness did not fail. In addition to the opinion he entertained that his
father was to a degree culpable of neglect towards us, and that he was
bound to every possible reparation, he was pleased to say that under all my
ruggedness there glimmered forth an elevation of spirit, which could be
distinguished from mere animal courage, and that I inherited a similarity
of countenance to my father, which gave proof that all his virtues and
talents had not died with him. Whatever those might be which descended to
me, my noble young friend resolved should not be lost for want of culture.

Acting upon this plan in our subsequent intercourse, he led me to wish to
participate in that cultivation which graced his own intellect. My active
mind, when once it seized upon this new idea, fastened on it with extreme
avidity. At first it was the great object of my ambition to rival the
merits of my father, and render myself worthy of the friendship of Adrian.
But curiosity soon awoke, and an earnest love of knowledge, which caused me
to pass days and nights in reading and study. I was already well acquainted
with what I may term the panorama of nature, the change of seasons, and the
various appearances of heaven and earth. But I was at once startled and
enchanted by my sudden extension of vision, when the curtain, which had
been drawn before the intellectual world, was withdrawn, and I saw the
universe, not only as it presented itself to my outward senses, but as it
had appeared to the wisest among men. Poetry and its creations, philosophy