under the weight of the splendour of these visions!

MAY 12.

I know not whether some deceitful spirits haunt this spot, or
whether it be the warm, celestial fancy in my own heart which
makes everything around me seem like paradise. In front of the
house is a fountain, -- a fountain to which I am bound by a charm
like Melusina and her sisters. Descending a gentle slope, you come
to an arch, where, some twenty steps lower down, water of the
clearest crystal gushes from the marble rock. The narrow wall which
encloses it above, the tall trees which encircle the spot, and the
coolness of the place itself, -- everything imparts a pleasant but
sublime impression. Not a day passes on which I do not spend an
hour there. The young maidens come from the town to fetch water,
-- innocent and necessary employment, and formerly the occupation of
the daughters of kings. As I take my rest there, the idea of the old
patriarchal life is awakened around me. I see them, our old ancestors,
how they formed their friendships and contracted alliances at the
fountain-side; and I feel how fountains and streams were guarded by
beneficent spirits. He who is a stranger to these sensations has
never really enjoyed cool repose at the side of a fountain after the
fatigue of a weary summer day.

MAY 13.

You ask if you shall send me books. My dear friend, I beseech you,
for the love of God, relieve me from such a yoke! I need no more
to be guided, agitated, heated. My heart ferments sufficiently of
itself. I want strains to lull me, and I find them to perfection