actor of the world, he was alternately the indolent sensualist or the
solitary dreamer. He did not view the stir of the great Babel as a man
with a wholesome mind should do; and thus from his infirmities we draw a
moral. The moral is not the worse, in that it opposes the trite
moralities of those who would take from action its motive: the men of
genius, who are not also men of ambition, are either humourists, or
visionaries, or hypochondriacs.

By the side of one of the Italian lakes, Godolphin and Lucilla fixed their
abode; and here the young idealist for some time imagined himself happy.
Never until now so fond of nature as of cities, he gave himself up to the
enchantment of the Eden around him. He spent the long sunny hours of
noon on the smooth lake, or among the sheltering trees by which it was
encircled. The scenes he had witnessed in the world became to him the
food of quiet meditation, and for the first time in his life, thought did
not weary him with its sameness.

When his steps turned homeward, the anxious form of Lucilla waited for
him: her eye brightened at his approach, her spirit escaped restraint and
bounded into joy: and Godolphin, touched by her delight, became eager to
witness it: he felt the magnet of a Home. Yet as the first enthusiasm of
passion died away, he could not but be sensible that Lucilla was scarcely
a companion. Her fancy was indeed lively, and her capacity acute; but
experience had set a confined limit to her ideas. She had nothing save
love, and a fitful temperament, upon which she could draw for
conversation. Those whose education debars them from deriving instruction
from things, have in general the power to extract amusement from
persons:--they can talk of the ridiculous Mrs. So-and-so, or the absurd
Mr. Blank. But our lovers saw no society: and thus their commune was
thrown entirely on their internal resources.