with an old gaucho about religion--George Combe and the desire for
immortality


CHAPTER XXIV
LOSS AND GAIN

The soul's loneliness--My mother and her death--A mother's love for
her son--Her character--Anecdotes--A mystery and a revelation--The
autumnal migration of birds--Moonlight vigils--My absent brother's
return--He introduces me to Darwin's works--A new philosophy of life--
Conclusion




CHAPTER I

EARLIEST MEMORIES

Preamble--The house where I was born--The singular Ombu tree--A tree
without a name--The plain--The ghost of a murdered slave--Our
playmate, the old sheep-dog--A first riding-lesson--The cattle: an
evening scene--My mother--Captain Scott--The hermit and his awful
penance.



It was never my intention to write an autobiography. Since I took to
writing in my middle years I have, from time to time, related some