"If the former comes not to any," said Mr. Allison, "the latter, I
doubt not, is daily enjoyed by thousands."

Mr. Markland shook his head, as he replied--

"Take my case, for instance; I speak of myself, because my thought
has been turning to myself; there are few elements of happiness that
I do not possess, and yet I cannot look back to the time when I was
happy."

"I hardly expected this from you, Mr. Markland," said the neighbour;
"to my observation, you always seemed one of the most cheerful of
men."

"I never was a misanthrope; I never was positively unhappy. No, I
have been too earnest a worker. But there is no disguising from
myself the fact, now I reflect upon it, that I have known but little
true enjoyment as I moved along my way through life."

"I must be permitted to believe," replied Mr. Allison, "that you are
not reading aright your past history. have been something of an
observer of men and things, and my experience leads me to this
conclusion."

"He who has felt the pain, Mr. Allison, bears ever after the memory
of its existence."

"And the marks, too, if the pain has been as prolonged and severe as
your words indicate."