discontented with some Circumstances of his
present State, to suffer his Imagination to range more or less in quest of
future Happiness, and to fix upon some Point of Time, in which he shall,
by the Removal of the Inconvenience which now perplexes him, or the
Acquisition of Advantage which he at present wants, find his Condition of
Life very much improved.

When this Time, which is too often expected with great Impatience, at last
arrives, it generally comes without the Blessing for which it was desired;
but we solace ourselves with some new Prospect, and press forward again
with equal Eagerness.

It is some Advantage to a Man, in whom this Temper prevails in any great
Degree, when he turns his Hopes upon Things wholly out of his own Power,
since he forbears then to precipitate his Affairs, for the Sake of the
great Event that is to complete his Felicity, and waits for the blissful
Hour, without neglecting such Measures as are necessary to be taken in the
mean Time.

I have long known a Person of this Temper, who indulged his Dream of
Happiness with less Hurt to himself than such chimerical Wishes commonly
produce, and adjusted his Scheme with such Address, that his Hopes were in
full bloom three parts of the Year, and in the other part never wholly
blasted. Many, perhaps, would be desirous of learning by what Means he
procured to himself such a cheap and lasting Satisfaction. It was gained
only by a constant Practice of referring the Removal of all his Uneasiness
to the Coming of the next Spring. If his Affairs were disordered, he could
regulate them in the Spring; if a Regimen was prescribed him, the Spring
was the proper Time of pursuing it; if what he wanted was at a high Price,
it would fall its Value in the Spring.

The Spring, indeed, did often come without any of these Effects; but he
was always certain that the next would be more propitious; and was never
convinced that the present Spring would fail him until the Middle of
Summer; for he always talked of the Spring as coming 'till it was past,
and when it was once past, every one agreed with him that it was coming.

By long Converse with this Man, I am, perhaps, in some Degree brought to
feel the same immoderate Pleasure in the Contemplation of this delightful
Season; but I have the Satisfaction of finding many, whom it can be no
Shame to resemble, infected with the same Enthusiasm; for there is, I
believe, scarce any Poet of Eminence, who has not left som