hich now, under
a summer sun, stood perfectly bare, and all of one uniform grey colour
as far as the view extended. On the other side, the eye looked over a
tract of country varied with hill and dale, but desolate of every colour
that used to shine forth in light and shade. The setting sun shone among
the leafless branches, casting long brilliant rays of light. The
unclouded sky met the sparkling earth, and both glittered with unnatural
brilliancy. To Paulett and Ellen, every thing spoke of desolation and
death; and an exclamation escaped Ellen, in a low tone, that it was a
piteous and horrible spectacle. But Charles, standing still at their
side as they looked on the scene, cried it was beautiful; the colours of
the sun were so splendid on the fine white trees, and one could see so
far, and every thing was so white and shining on the earth. The parents
felt that ideas were ceasing to be in common between the last and the
first members of the old and the new generation; and far from
contradicting their boy, they tried to partake his pleasure and enter
into his impressions. They moved on up to the old familiar door and
entered the open silent hall, where they remembered the ceremonies and
the courtesies of life. They chose among the rooms which had been those
of friends, and recognised familiar objects of their everyday existence.
It was a conceit of Paulett's, for which he smiled at himself, to wind
up the clock in the hall, and set it to tell out the time again for
another week. There were musical instruments in a room adjoining, and
over one of these Ellen timidly passed her fingers. It was out of tune,
and the sounds, though sweet in themselves, all jarred with one another.

"That's the last music of the world, perhaps," said Ellen; "and all
discord too."

They found some small store of corn in one of the rooms; they prepared
and ate it, and lay down to sleep; forgetting in fatigue all their
dismal feelings, and in their dreams seeing the old state of things and
dead persons--nay, a dead world--without wondering that they were come
to life again. All the days of their journey wore an uniform character;
and they kept on and on through waste and ruin, glad to leave the
country behind them, and expecting, as some relief, the aspect of
streets and a town. They halted, at length, within a few miles of
London, and lay down to rest, thankful to be so near their bourne; for
they had suffered as much fatigue as they could we