396 Prospect of Killarney obscured by a Fog. 



inseparable from human existence often obliges 

 even the greatest characters to blush at their 

 own littlenesses ! This acknowledged defect in 

 our nature makes me less scrupulous in dis- 

 closing the secret cause of my perturbation : I 

 was provoked, and out of humour with myself! 

 I wished to persuade myself I was disposed to 

 be candid and to decide fairly, at the instant I 

 was imagining the most specious arguments to 

 justify my prepossessions. I was ashamed at 

 being forced to believe myself incapable of 

 being impartial my reason disclaimed it ; and, 

 after a time, I discovered that a further ab- 

 straction of thought would be likely to deprive 

 me of the promised enjoyment, to the fullest ex- 

 tent of that delight, which is ever attendant on 

 the contemplation of the sublime works of 

 nature, or of indulging in the enthusiasm so 

 universally excited by views of a grand and 

 beautiful description. -,;, - , 



I had been so entirely absorbed in my own 

 reveries, that I lost sight of all that was sur- 

 rounding me, and had nearly reached the top 

 of the hill, before I perceived a thick fog, 

 which had risen from the plain, and had so 

 rapidly ascended as to obscure the sun and 

 all distant objects : by the time I had reached 

 the summit, an impenetrable mist involved the 



