A CHILD OF NATURE 
we are not empty and passive, but 
harmonious witb tbe highest and 
truest in thought and life, that the 
great inspirations breathe upon us 
and the invisible chords yield the 
music which appeals to us with the 
warmth and colour and passion of 
the human and the pure and thrill- 
ing intimations of the divine. It 
may have been a fancy, but in that 
mood of sensitiveness to the most 
subtle and delicate influences Ralph 
felt himself touched and quieted by 
the air of the house ; as if within 
those bare walls there lingered 
some spiritual energy which had 
survived the passing of the mortal 
frame from which it issued. This 
may have been fanciful, but the 
Cm ] 
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