kely to disturb them. We
sauntered onward through some meadows that skirted the river; and at
last, coming down to the stream, seated ourselves by the brink, each
still sunk in his own reflections.

It was a bright day of midsummer: the air had all that exhilaration
peculiar to the season in these Alpine districts. The stream ran clear
as crystal at our feet; and the verdure of grass and foliage was in its
full perfection. But one single object recalled a thought of sorrow, and
that was the curtained window of the little chamber wherein Herr Robert
lay dead.

To this spot my eyes would return, do what I could; and thither, too,
sped all my thoughts, in spite of me. The influence which for some time
back he had possessed over me was perfectly distinct from that which
originates in affectionate attachment. Indeed, all his appeals to me
were the very reverse of such. His constant argument was, that a man
fettered by affection, and restricted by ties of family, was worthless
for all purposes of high ambition, and that for the real successes of
life, one must sacrifice everything like individual enjoyment. So far
had he impressed me with these notions that I already felt a kind of
pleasure in little acts of self-denial, and rose in my own esteem by
slight traits of self-restraint. The comparative isolation in which
I lived, and my estrangement from those of my own age, favored this
impression, and I grew by degrees to look upon the sports and pleasures
of boyhood with all the disdainful compassion of an old ascetic.

I remember well how, as I lay in the deep grass and watched the rippling
circles of the fast-flowing river, that a sudden thought shot
through me. What if all this theory should prove but a well-disguised
avarice,--that this passion for distinction be only the thirst for
wealth,--these high purposes of philanthropy but another scheme for
self-advancement! Is it possible that for such a price as this I would
surrender all the enjoyments of youth, and all the budding affections of
coming manhood?

"Mr. Joseph," said I, suddenly, "what is the best life?"

"How do you mean, Jasper? Is it, how shall a man do most good to
others?" said he.

"Not alone that; but how shall he best employ his faculties for his own
sake?"

"That may mean for his personal advancement, Jasper, for objects purely
selfish, and be the reverse of what your first question implied."

"When I said the best, I meant the wisest," replied I