so long secluded by
disease from the enjoyments of weather and scenery. We passed through busy
towns and cultivated plains. The husbandmen were getting in their plenteous
harvests, and the women and children, occupied by light rustic toils,
formed groupes of happy, healthful persons, the very sight of whom carried
cheerfulness to the heart. One evening, quitting our inn, we strolled down
a shady lane, then up a grassy slope, till we came to an eminence, that
commanded an extensive view of hill and dale, meandering rivers, dark
woods, and shining villages. The sun was setting; and the clouds, straying,
like new-shorn sheep, through the vast fields of sky, received the golden
colour of his parting beams; the distant uplands shone out, and the busy
hum of evening came, harmonized by distance, on our ear. Adrian, who felt
all the fresh spirit infused by returning health, clasped his hands in
delight, and exclaimed with transport:

"O happy earth, and happy inhabitants of earth! A stately palace has God
built for you, O man! and worthy are you of your dwelling! Behold the
verdant carpet spread at our feet, and the azure canopy above; the fields
of earth which generate and nurture all things, and the track of heaven,
which contains and clasps all things. Now, at this evening hour, at the
period of repose and refection, methinks all hearts breathe one hymn of
love and thanksgiving, and we, like priests of old on the mountain-tops,
give a voice to their sentiment.

"Assuredly a most benignant power built up the majestic fabric we inhabit,
and framed the laws by which it endures. If mere existence, and not
happiness, had been the final end of our being, what need of the profuse
luxuries which we enjoy? Why should our dwelling place be so lovely, and
why should the instincts of nature minister pleasurable sensations? The
very sustaining of our animal machine is made delightful; and our
sustenance, the fruits of the field, is painted with transcendant hues,
endued with grateful odours, and palatable to our taste. Why should this
be, if HE were not good? We need houses to protect us from the seasons, and
behold the materials with which we are provided; the growth of trees with
their adornment of leaves; while rocks of stone piled above the plains
variegate the prospect with their pleasant irregularity.

"Nor are outward objects alone the receptacles of the Spirit of Good. Look
into the mind of man, where wisdom reigns enthroned;