« 

 ( 104) 



that he spent in this solitary asylum. Time weighed 

 with ail its wearisome duralion on his every Ihought , 

 which he dared not unveil to his host , a person 

 so mysterious himself ; time weighed with ail its 

 wearisome duration on every one , for Ihey had no 

 other limit but eternity ; and his lyre the symbol and 

 pledge of propriety with celés liai confines , his 

 latidical lyre become incapable of prophesying , 

 hung useless on his broad bosom , or remained 

 mute in his idle hands. He nevertheless accustom- 

 ed himself, little by little , to take pleasure in 

 Ihe Society of the old man ; and his incomparable 

 épouse; and his roving looks began to fall with 

 émotion on Eurydice : more frequentiy she appeared 

 to him as a beautiful dream , impossible to seize. 

 But he felt ail the anxiety of an existence that seem- 

 ed to float on an abyss. The gods had placed in 

 his generous heart, the magnanimous ambition of 

 doing good to his fellow créatures; of scattering 

 among barbarous nations the boons of civilization, 

 but the Word barbarous did not ofi"er to his mind 

 the idea of any thing mean or despicable , and he 

 was loalh to recognize two distinct human natures. 

 Moreover he well knew that such an expression 

 dénotes sacred and unfathomable origins. Endu- 

 ring with a noble concern the ennui of being with- 

 out a family , without a known country , he wished 

 to create an adoptive family, and exlract from out 

 of his own intelligence a natal country. He deemed 

 himself born with ail the authorily of a legislator, 

 with that force of wiU which soqner or later mas- 



