enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone,
and feel the charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the
bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed
in the exquisite sense of mere tranquil existence, that I neglect my
talents. I should be incapable of drawing a single stroke at the present
moment; and yet I feel that I never was a greater artist than now. When,
while the lovely valley teems with vapour around me, and the meridian
sun strikes the upper surface of the impenetrable foliage of my trees,
and but a few stray gleams steal into the inner sanctuary, I throw
myself down among the tall grass by the trickling stream; and, as I lie
close to the earth, a thousand unknown plants are noticed by me: when
I hear the buzz of the little world among the stalks, and grow familiar
with the countless indescribable forms of the insects and flies, then I
feel the presence of the Almighty, who formed us in his own image, and
the breath of that universal love which bears and sustains us, as it
floats around us in an eternity of bliss; and then, my friend, when
darkness overspreads my eyes, and heaven and earth seem to dwell in my
soul and absorb its power, like the form of a beloved mistress, then I
often think with longing, Oh, would I could describe these conceptions,
could impress upon paper all that is living so full and warm within me,
that it might be the mirror of my soul, as my soul is the mirror of the
infinite God! O my friend--but it is too much for my strength--I sink
under the weight of the splendour of these visions!

MAY 12.

I know not whether some deceitful spirits haunt this spot, or whether
it be the warm, celestial fancy in my own heart which makes everything
around me seem like paradise. In front of the house is a fountain,--a
fountain to which I am bound by a charm like Melusina and her sisters.
Descending a gentle slope, you come to an arch, where, some twenty steps
lower down, water of the clearest crystal gushes from the marble rock.
The narrow wall which encloses it above, the tall trees which encircle
the spot, and the coolness of the place itself,--everything imparts
a pleasant but sublime impression. Not a day passes on which I do not
spend an hour there. The young maidens come from the town to fetch
water,--innocent and necessary employment, and formerly the occupation
of the daughters of kings. As I take my rest there, the idea of the old
patriarchal life is awakened a