myself!

[_Throws himself on a seat; takes from his
pocket "Zimmerman on Solitude," and
reads._

_Fra._ [_Aside, surveying him._] Again reading! Thus it is from morn to
night. To him nature has no beauty; life, no charm. For three years I
have never seen him smile. What will be his fate at last? Nothing
diverts him. Oh, if he would but attach himself to any living thing!
Were it an animal--for something man must love.

_Enter TOBIAS, from the Hut._

_Tob._ Oh! how refreshing, after seven long weeks, to feel these warm
sun beams once again! Thanks! thanks! bounteous Heaven, for the joy I
taste.

[_Presses his cap between his hands, looks
up and prays.--The STRANGER observes him
attentively._

_Fra._ [_To the STRANGER.] This old man's share of earthly happiness
can be but little; yet mark how grateful he is for his portion of it.

_Stra._ Because, though old, he is but a child in the leading strings of
Hope.

_Fra._ Hope is the nurse of life.

_Stra._ And her cradle is the grave.

[_TOBIAS replaces his cap._

_Fra._ I wish you joy. I am glad to see you are so much recovered.

_Tob._ Thank you. Heaven, and the assistance of a kind lady, have saved
me for another year or two.

_Fra._ How old are you, pray?

_Tob._ Seventy-six. To be sure I can expect but little joy before I die.
Yet, there is another, and a better world.

_Fra._ To the unfortunate, then, death is scarce an evil?

_Tob._ Am I so unfortunate? Do I not enjoy this glorious morning? Am I
not in health again! Believe me, sir, he, who, leaving the bed of
sickness, for the first time breathes the fresh pure air, is, at that
moment, the happiest of his Maker's creatures.

_Fra._ Yet 'tis a happiness that fails upon enjoyment.

_Tob._ True; but less so in old age. Some fifty years ago my father left
me this cottage. I was a strong lad; and took an honest wife. Heaven
blessed my farm with rich crops, and my marriage with five children.
This lasted nine or ten years. Two of my children died. I felt it
sorely. The land was afflicted with a famine. My wife assisted me in
supporting our family: but four years after, she left our dwelling for a
better place. And of my five children only one son remained. This was
blo