FAITH AND LOVE. 93 



of the Divine and the Infinite, or of an earthly Idol, none knew, 

 so similar are each in their results. 



I had known him for many years, had conceived the most 

 devoted and reverential affection for him, and yet had never 

 sought to penetrate this mystery of his character ; judge then 

 of my surprise when he himself opened to me the secret of his 

 life. 



We had travelled much together, and our intercourse being 

 of the most unconstrained and cordial kind, I was not long in 

 learning that there were frequent occasions on which he was 

 totally silent even for an hour, and that too in the midst of 

 gayety, when circumstances rendered it impossible to separate 

 himself from the group. One day in a year he always passed 

 alone in his room. I learned this day to be the twelfth of August. 

 After this period of seclusion he was not gloomy, as one might 

 be led to suppose, instead, a gentle serenity was diffused over 

 him, a hopefulness and trust that seemed to have received a 

 higher impulse. 



We were within one day's journey of Philadelphia, and 

 business of some importance there claimed my attention, yet 

 did I linger amid the gorgeous scenery of the Susquehanna, 

 with its primeval woods hanging like an eternal canopy above 

 me, for a new and solemn sense of beauty was entering 

 my very soul. The conversation of Gilbert too, was in- 

 structive and ennobling in the highest degree ; and there was 

 a vein of spirituality running through it rarely perceptible. 



