f purpose, and by the true goodwill which
they had perceived in me, my parents determined--God reward them for
it!--to bestow upon my desired domestic establishment the sum of money
which they had put aside for my dowry, in case I married. Indeed, their
and my sisters' kindness made them find pleasure in arranging all for me
in the best and most comfortable manner; and when I left the paternal
roof for my own new home, it was with tears of real pain. Yet I had too
clearly studied my own character and position to be undecided.

It was a day in April, my thirtieth birthday, when, accompanied by my
own family, I went to take possession of my new, small, but pretty
dwelling. Two young father-and-motherless girls, not quite without
means, followed me to my new habitation. They were to become my
children, I their mother.

I never shall forget the first morning of my waking in my new abode. At
this very moment it is as if I saw how the day dawned in the chamber;
how all the objects gradually assumed, as it seemed to me, an
unaccustomed definiteness. From the near church ascended the morning
hymn with its pleasant serious melody, which attuned the soul to
harmonious peace. I rose early; I had to care for house and children.
All was cheerful and festival-like in my soul; a sweet emotion
penetrated me like the enlivening breeze of spring. Also without spring
breathed. I saw the snow melt from the roofs, and fall down in
glittering drops, yet never had I seen the morning light in them so
clear as now. I saw the sparrows on the edge of the chimneys twittering
to greet the morning sun. I saw without, people going joyfully about
their employments: I saw the milk-woman going from door to door, and she
seemed to me more cheerful than any milk-woman I had ever seen before;
and the milk seemed to me whiter and more nutritious than common. It
seemed to me as if I now saw the world for the first time. I fancied
even myself to be altered as I looked in the glass; my eyes appeared to
me larger; my whole appearance to have become better, and more
important. In the chamber near me the children awoke--the little
immortals whom I was to conduct to eternal life. Yes, indeed, this was a
beautiful morning! In it the world first beamed upon me, and at the same
time my own inner world, and I became of worth and consequence in my own
estimation.

The active yet quiet life which I led from this time forth, suited me
perfectly well. From this time I