He was just fixed in one
of these abstracted reveries of the mind, traversing over the halcyon
scenes of his collegiate days, and re-associating himself with his early
friend, the author of the eccentric volume then in his hand, when the
above monition sprung from his heart, like the crystal stream that
sparkles in the air, when first it bursts through the mineral bondage of
the womb of nature.
"You are right," said my aunt. Horatio started with surprise, almost
unconscious of her presence, or
~20~~
what he had said to deserve her approbation. "True happiness," she
continued, "is the offspring of generosity and virtue, and never
inhabits a bosom where worldly interest and selfish principles are
allowed to predominate. There are many who possess all the requisites
for the enjoyment of true happiness, who, from the prejudices of
education, or the mistaken pride of ancestry, have never experienced the
celestial rapture: they have never been amalgamated with society, are
strangers to poverty themselves, and cannot comprehend its operation
upon others; born and moving in a sphere where the chilling blasts of
indigence never penetrate, or the clouds of adversity appal, they have
no conception of the more delightful gratification which springs
from the source of all earthly happiness, the pleasure and ability of
administering to the wants and comforts of our fellow creatures.
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