pointing to a tó a véry magníficent house which stood át sóme distance,,,belóngs tó Mr. Thornhill, a yoúng géntleman whò enjoys a large fortune, though entirely dependant on the will of his uncle, Sir William Thornhill, a gentleman whò, contént with a little himself, permíts hís néphew tó enjoy the rést, ánd chiefly resides in town.“ ,,What!" cried Ì, „ís mỳ young landlord, then, the nephew of a mán, whòse vírtues, generósity, and singulárities, àre sò univérsally knòwn? I have héard Sir William Thornhill represénted ás óne of the most génerous, mén in the kingdom; a mán óf coninfos summate benevolence.",,Something, perhaps, too much so,“ replied Mr. Burchell:,,át least hè benévolence tó án excéss when young; fór his pássions were then strong, and ás hís thèy wère àll upón the sìde óf virtue, they léd ít úp tó a roto aim at the qualification of begán tó arried mántic extreme.scholar; wás sòon distinguished in the army, the soldier and the ni e ambitions; fór súch alone receive and had some reputation among men of learning. Adulation 5f dependants, whom he was sùre tó disappoint, yet wished tó reliève. Thèse húng upón hím fór a time, and left him wit mérited reproaches and contémpt. Bút ín proportion ás hè becàme contémptible tó óthers, hè became déspicable tó himsélf. His mind hád leaned upón thèir adulàtion, and, thát suppòrt taken awày, hè could find nò pléasure in the applause of his heàrt, whích hè hád néver leárned tó réverence. The world nów began to wear a dífferent áspect; the fláttery of hís friends begán tó dwindle into simple approbàtion. Approbàtion soon took the more friendly form of advice; and advice, when rejécted, produced their reproaches. Hè nów, therefore, found thát súch friends ás bénefits had gathered ròund hím, wère little éstimable; hè nów found thát a mán’s own heart múst bè éver given to gain that of another. I nów found that thát — 1 forget whát Ì was going to obsérve: ín shòrt, sír, hè resólved tó respéct himself, and laid down a plán óf restòring his fallen fortune. For this púrpose, in his òwn whimsical mánner, hè travelled through Europe ón foot; and nów, thòugh hè hás scarcely attained the age of thirty, hís círcumstances àre mòre áffluent thán éver. Át présent hís bòunties àre mòre rátional ánd moderate than before; bút stíll hè presérves the character of a hùmourist, and finds mòst pléasure ín eccéntric vírtues. She myself My attention wás sò múch tàken úp bỳ Mr. Burchell's accòunt, thát İ scarcely lóoked fórward as wè wént alóng, till wè wère alarmed by the cries of my family; whén, túrning, Ì perceived my youngest daughter in the midst of a rápid strèam, thròwn fróm hér hórse, ánd strúggling with the torrent, hád súnk twice, nór wás it in my power to disengage in tìme tó bring hér relief. My sense sensations wère even tòo violent tó permít my attempting hér réscue: shè múst have certainly pérished, hád nót mỳ compánion, perceiving hér dànger, ín stantly plunged ín tó hér relièf, ánd, with some difficulty, bròught hér ín safety to the opposite shore. Bỳ tàking the current a little farther úp 12), the rést of the family gót sàfely over, whère wè hád án opportunity of joining our acknów 12) by taking the current a little farther up, indem wir etwas mehr stromaufwärts, den Strom weiter hinaufgingen, wo das Wasser seich ter war. Thús, ledgments tó hérs. Hér grátitude mày bè mòre réadily imagined thán described; shè thánked hér deliverer more with lóoks thán wórds, ánd contínued tó lèan upón his àrm, ás íf stíll willing tó receive assistance. My wife also hòped one day to have the Yendness át hér pléasure of returning his own house. after wè wère refréshed at the néxt ínn, ánd hád dined together, ás Mr. Búrchell was going to a different part of the country, hè took leave; and wè pursùed òur journey, mỳ wife obsérving, as we went, thay shè liked hím extremely, and protésting, that if he had birth and fortune to entitle hím tó mátch into súch a family ás ours, she k knew no man she would sooner fix upón. I could not bút smile tó hèar hér talk in this lofty Y strain; bút I wás néver múch displeased with those harmless delusions that ténd tó màke ús mòre happy. CHAPTER IV. A Proof that even the humblest Fortune mày grant Happiness, which depends nót ón circumstances, but constitution. THE place of our retreat wás ín a little neighbourhood, consisting of farmers, whò tilled their own grounds, and wère èqual strangers tó ópulence and poverty. As they hád àlmost all the conveniences of life within themselves, they seldom vísited towns or cíties) in search of superflùities. Remote from the polite, they still retained the primeval simplícity of mánners; stil and frugal by hábit, they scarcely knew that témperance was una virtue They wrought with cheerfulness on days of labour, bút obsérved festivals ás íntervals of idleness and pleasure. They kept up the Christmas cárol2), sént trùe lóve-knóts ón 1) towns or cities. Jeder Ort, welcher einen regelmässigen Markt hat, wird town genannt; city hingegen ist eine grosse (mit Vorstädten versehene) Stadt. 2) Christmas (krissmäs) cárol, Weihnachtslied. In England ist es, besonders auf dem Lande, Sitte, dass arme Kinder in den Tagen vor Weihnachten Lieder, die sich auf das Fest beziehen, absingen, wofür ihnen eine Kleinigkeit gereicht wird. Auch Erwachsene thun es mitunter. Etwas Aehnliches haben wir ja auch in Deutschland, nämlich am Tage der heiligen 3 Könige. Bry Válentine mòrning 3), àte pancakes ón' wit on the first óf April,, ánd rovetide, shewed their ón cracked nuts on Míchaelmas-ève. Being apprized of our approach, the whole neighbourhood came out to meet their minister, dressed in their finest clothes, and precèded by a pipe and tàbor; a feast also wás provided for our recéption, át, which wè, sát cheerfully dówn; ánd what the conversation wanted in wit, was made up in laughter. Len Our little habitation was situated a át the foot of a slòping hill, , sheltered with a beautiful underwood behind, and a prattling rívulet before; ón óne side a méadow, on the other a green. Mỳ fàrm consisted of about twenty àcres óf éxcellent land, háving given a hundred pounds fór my predecessor's good-will *). the neatness of my little enclosures, the thing cage- appearing with inexpréssible beaùty. My élms and bòuse consisted of bút one stor story/sess ánd wás cóvered with thatch, whích gàve ít án àir óf great snugness; the walls on the inside wère nicely white-wáshed, and mỳ dàughters undertook tó adòrn thém with pictures of their own designing. Though the same ròom sérved ús fór pårlour and kitchen, thát ònly made it the warmer. Besides, ás ít wás képt with the utmost neatness, the dishes, plates, and coppers, being well scoured, and àll dispòsed in bright ròws on the shelves), the eye was agreeably relièved, and díd not want rích 6) furniture. Thère wère thrèe óther apartments, óne for my wife and mè, another for our 3) Valentine morning, am Morgen des Valentinstages (14. Februar). An demselben pflegte man derjenigen unverheiratheten Person des andern Geschlechts ein kleines Geschenk zu überschicken der man zuerst begegnete. Der Aberglaube bezeichnete dieselbe zugleich als die künftige Geliebte. 4) good-will, guter Wille; dafür, dass sein Vorgänger die Ländereien eher abtrat, als er es nach seinem Pachtkontrakt nöthig hatte; für die frühere Abtretung, für den Abstand also. 5) shelves, von shelf, welches Wort im Plur. auch shelfes und selbst shelfs hat. 6) rich furniture, so Walter Scott, während andere Angaben richer furniture haben. Hr. Dr. Possart hält die erste Leseart für falsch, weil eine Vergleichung zum Grunde liege. Aber kann denn, möchten wir den Herrn Doctor fragen, ohne Comparativ keine Vergleichung Statt finden? Kostbar war ja das Geräthe nicht, sondern nur nett und sauber gehalten und aufgestellt, und eben dies giebt unser Vicar als Grund an, warum es keiner kostbaren Geräthschaften bedurft hätte, um das Auge zu ergötzeu. two daughters, within dur own, and the third, with two beds, for the rest of the children. i The little repúblic tó whích Ì gàve làws, wás régulated ín the following manner: bỳ sunrise wè àll assembled in our cómmon apartment, the fire being previously kindled by the sérvant; àfter wè wè hád saluted each other with proper céremony, (fór I always thought fit to keep up some i chanical forms of good breeding, without which freedom éver destroys friendship) we all bént in gratitude tó thát Being whò gàve ús another day. This duty being performed, mỳ són ánd I went to pursue our usual índustry abroad, while my wife and daughters employed themselves ín providing breakfast"), which was always ready at a cértain time. Ì allowed half án hòur for this meal, and án hòur fór dinner, whích tìme wás tàken úp ín ínnocent mírth between my wife and daughters, and ín philosophical arguments between my són ánd mè. Ás wè ròse with the sún, sò wè néver pursued òur làbour àfter it wás góne dówn, bút returned home to the expecting family; whère smiling lòoks, a neat heàrth, and pléasant fire, wère prepàred fór òur recéption. Nór wère wè withòut guésts; sómetimes Farmer Flámborough, òur talkative nèighbour, ánd often the blind piper, would pày ús a visit, and tàste òur gooseberry-wine; for the making of which wè hád lóst neither the receipt nor the reputation. Thèse harmless people hád séveral ways of being good cómpany; fór while one played, the other would síng sóme soothing ballad, Jóhnny Armstrong's last Good-night, or the cruelty of Bárbara Allen 8). The night wás concluded in the manner wè began the mòrning, my youngest boys being appointed tò rèad the lessons of the dày; and hè thát réad lòudest, distínctest, and bést, wás tó háve a halfpenny ón Sunday, tó pút ínto the pòor's box. Whén Súnday came, ít wás indèed a dày óf finery, which all my sumptuary èdicts could not restrain. How well soever 7) Eine interessante Beschreibung eines englischen Frühstücks findet man in Johanna Schopenhauer's Reisen durch England und Schottland, II, 154 ff., so wie auch in Niemeyer's Beobachtungen auf Reisen 1, 126 ff. 8) Johnny Armstrong's last good night und the cruelly óf Barbara Allen, zwei Balladen, deren Verfasser unbekannt sind. |