264 



CHAPTER XXII. 



CONCLUSION. 



IT is a good rule, I believe, to give up doing 

 what you wish to do, provided it is not an 

 absolute duty to do it ; for if you err, you err 

 on the safe side. Now, I am heart and soul in 

 these wilds, and I believe I could find some- 

 thing to say about them as long as life lasts. 

 Every day brings some fresh occurrence, 

 creating some new idea. Above all, every day 

 seems to sharpen up the memory of the past. 

 As, then, I feel how bitter it is to tear myself 

 away from a subject so dear to me ; as each 

 companion in these wild regions is recalled to 

 my memory, how gladly would I say something 

 of him as his shadow passes before me, and 

 seems to hover about the spots endeared by 

 some recollection ! — as I feel all this, it makes 

 me sad to think that the time is come when I 

 tnust part with the shadow, as I have already 

 parted with the substance. But it must be 



