is supposed discovery was, as has been stated, one of joyful alarm.
Having renounced all the happiness of healthy men, he had never thought
such an event possible, nay scarcely desirable. He looked upon himself
as a passing guest at the table of this world, who could only taste the
various dainties, and who after a short enjoyment of the pleasures of
the feast, a modest sip from the beaker of earthly joys, must silently
slip away. That he might take his place there with the others, join in
the festivities till midnight, and drain the last dregs of the wine
cup, was something of which he had not dared to think. He had yielded
the more freely to a feeling of happy hopelessness, because he thought
himself sure, of standing in no one's way by so doing. This fair,
innocent child, in the exuberance of perfect health, possessed exactly
what he lacked; that she had grown up in the insensibility of pure
nature, without intellectual wants, culture, or training, while every
expression, every gesture revealed strength, freshness, and the most
joyous good nature, attracted him to her as one is attracted toward an
object always longed for and always withheld. When she entered his
room, he forgot his sufferings and banished the thought of the future,
since she herself seemed to be satisfied with the present and the
pleasures it contained; therefore the thought that any change could
take place in this familiar, unconstrained intercourse had hitherto
never occurred to him.

Now he was suddenly thrown into a state of bewilderment in which he was
no longer in harmony with his own heart, since that which had hitherto
filled it with such pure and calm emotions, now appeared sinful, and
certainly was the source of many sorrows.

But he had reached his twentieth year and the feeling of delight must
needs outweigh all sadness. Almost insensibly, the hopes he believed
long since buried, again appeared before his eyes. Why should not a
miracle be performed in his case as well as in so many others, and
nature summon her wondrous powers of healing, especially as the soul
was now ready to assist? And if it should really prove that the
strength of manhood was to make amends for the sufferings of his youth,
how beneficent was the star which had enabled him to find in this
little spot, the treasure that would make him rich for all time.

This belief became more and more fixed in his mind, so that he
submitted to all the remedies prescribed without o