The Life of Jean Henri Fabre 



veal a soul and a life that are akin to our 

 own, more especially in their beginnings, and 

 because they so wonderfully evoke an age 

 and a country that were once ours and are 

 still the possession of our grand-nephews. 



At the age of ten the time came for the 

 child to bid a fresh farewell to his native 

 village. His father was the first of his race 

 to be tempted by the town, and he removed 

 his home to Rodez. Jean-Henri was never 

 again to behold the humble village where he 

 lived " his best years," but he bore its image 

 indelibly stamped upon his mind, upon that 

 part of it in which are formed those pro- 

 found impressions that grow more vivid with 

 the years instead of fading. He left it at 

 first with a light heart, but later on he was 

 homesick for it; and as the years went by 

 he felt more than ever its mysterious attrac- 

 tion, so that one of his last wishes was to 

 see his grave dug in the shadow of his cradle. 

 But we will not wrong feelings so delicate 

 by seeking to interpret them; we will let him 

 speak for himself. 



Leaving our native village is no very serious 

 matter when we are children. We even look on 

 it as a sort of holiday. We are going to see some- 

 thing new, those magic pictures of our dreams. 

 With age come regrets; and the close of life is 

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