d descended the Ohio almost as far as
Cincinnati, before other thoughts than those which were concerned with
Pepeeta and his spiritual regeneration could awaken any interest in his
mind. But as the boat approached Cincinnati, the places, the persons and
the incidents of his childhood world began to present themselves to his
consciousness. An irrepressible longing to look once more upon the place
of his birth and the friends of his youth took possession of his mind.

He found, on inquiry, that the boat was to remain at the wharf in
Cincinnati for several hours, and that there would be time enough for
him to make the journey to his old home and back before she proceeded
down the river. He decided to do so, and observed with satisfaction that
those painful gropings for the next stepping stone across the streams of
action which had been so persistent and painful a feature of his recent
life had given place to the swift intuitions of his youth. He saw his
way as he used to when a boy, and made his decisions rapidly and
executed them fearlessly. The discovery of this fact gave a new zest
and hope to life.

In a few moments after he had landed at the familiar wharf he was
mounted upon a fleet horse, rushing away over those beautiful rolling
hills which fill the mind of the traveler with uncloying delight in
their variety, their fertility and their beauty. It was the first time
since he had left the farm that his mind had been free enough from
passion or pain to bestow its full attention upon the charms of Nature;
they dawned on him now like a new discovery. The motion of the
horse,--so long unfamiliar, so easy, so graceful, so rhythmical,--seemed
of itself to key his spirits to his environment, for it is an elemental
pleasure to be seated in the saddle and feel the thrill of power and
rapid motion. The rider's eyes brightened, his cheeks glowed, his pulses
bounded. He gathered up the beauties of the world around him in great
sheaves of delicious and thrilling sensations. Long-forgotten odors came
sweeping across the fields, rich with the verdure of the vernal season,
and brought with them precious accompaniments of the almost-forgotten
past. The rich and varied colors of field and sky and forest fed his
starved soul with one kind of beauty; and the sweet sounds of the
outdoor world intoxicated him with another. The low of cattle, the
bleating of sheep, the crowing of chanticleers, the cackling of hens,
the gobble of turkeys,