-dealer, he pressed my hand with heartfelt regret; and though
the Signora Giustiniani, as she pocketed a tolerably thick bundle of
paper money, looked at me with that kindly pity which a good woman is
always ready to bestow on the inexperienced, especially when they are
young, that, no doubt, was because the manuscript I had acquired bore
such a dilapidated appearance. The margins of the thick old Nuremberg
paper were eaten into by mice and insects, in many places black patches
like tinder dropped away from the yellow pages; indeed, many passages of
the once clear writing had so utterly faded that I scarcely hoped to see
them made legible again by the chemist's art. However, the contents of
the document were so interesting and remarkable, so unique in relation to
the time when it was written, that they irresistibly riveted my
attention, and in studying them I turned half the night into day. There
were nine separate parts. All, except the very last one, were in the same
hand, and they seemed to have formed a single book before they were torn
asunder. The cover and title-page were lost, but at the head of the first
page these words were written in large letters: "The Book of my Life."
Then followed a long passage in crude verse, very much to this effect.

"What we behold with waking Eye
Can, to our judgment, never lie,
And what through Sense and Sight we gain.
Becometh part of Soul and Brain.
Look round the World in which you dwell
Nor, Snail-like, live within your Shell;
And if you see His World aright
The Lord shall grant you double Sight.
For, though your Mind and Soul be small,
If you but open them to all
The great wide World, they will expand
Those glorious Things to understand.
When Heart and Brain are great with Love
Man is most like the Lord above.
Look up to Him with patient Eye
Not on your own Infirmity.
In pious Trust yourself forget
For others only toil and fret,
Since all we do for fellow Men
With right good Will, shall be our Gain.
What if the Folk should call you Fool
Care not, but act by Virtue's Rule,
Contempt and Curses let them fling,
God's Blessing shields you from their Sting.
Grey is my Head but young my Heart;
In Nuremberg, ere I depart,
Children and Grandchildren, for you