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so much fervour that he seemed to feel the excess of bliss which he enjoyed。
〃He shall kiss you too，〃 she added ； and then she held the bird
toward me。 His little beak moved from her mouth to mine ， and the delightful
sensation seemed like the forerunner of the sweetest bliss。
〃A kiss ，〃 I observed， 〃does not seem to satisfy him： he wishes
for food， and seems disappointed by these unsatisfactory endearments。〃
〃But he eats out of my mouth，〃 she continued ， and extended her
lips to him containing seed ； and she smiled with all the charm of a
being who has allowed an innocent participation of her love。
I turned my face away。 She should not act thus。 She ought not to excite
my imagination with such displays of heavenly innocence and happiness ，
nor awaken my heart from its slumbers ， in which it dreams of the worthlessness
of life ！ And why not？ Because she knows how much I love her。
SEPTEMBER 15。 It makes me wretched， Wilhelm， to think that there
should be men incapable of appreciating the few things which possess a
real value in life。 You remember the walnut trees at S——， under which
I used to sit with Charlotte， during my visits to the worthy old vicar。
Those glorious trees， the very sight of which has so often filled my
heart with joy， how they adorned and refreshed the parsonage yard， with
their wide…extended branches！ and how pleasing was our remembrance of
the good old pastor ， by whose hands they were planted so many years
ago ： The schoolmaster has frequently mentioned his name。 He had it from
his grandfather。 He must have been a most excellent man ； and， under
the shade of those old trees， his memory was ever venerated by me。 The
schoolmaster informed us yesterday， with tears in his eyes ， that those
trees had been felled。 Yes， cut to the ground！ I could， in my wrath，
have slain the monster who struck the first stroke。 And I must endure
this！—— I， who， if I had had two such trees in my own court， and
one had died from old age ， should have wept with real affliction。 But
there is some fort left， such a thing is sentiment， the whole village
murmurs at the misfortune ； and I hope the vicar's wife will soon find，
by the cessation of the villagers' presents ， how much she has wounded
the feelings of the neighborhhood。 It was she who did it， the wife of
the present incumbent （our good old man is dead）， a tall ， sickly
creature who is so far right to disregard the world ， as the world totally
disregards her。 The silly being affects to be learned ， pretends to examine
the canonical books ， lends her aid toward the new…fashioned reformation
of Christendom， moral and critical ， and shrugs up her shoulders at
the mention of Lavater's enthusiasm。 Her health is destroyed， on account
of which she is prevented from having any enjoyment here below。 Only such
a creature could have cut down my walnut trees！ I can never pardon it。
Hear her reasons。 The falling leaves made the court wet and dirty ； the
branches obstructed the light ； boys threw stones at the nuts when they
were ripe ， and the noise affected her nerves； and disturbed her profound
meditations ， when she was weighing the diffculties of Kennicot， Semler，
and Michaelis。 Finding that all the parish， particularly the old people，
were displeased ， I asked 〃why they allowed it ？〃 〃Ah ， sir！〃 they
replied ， 〃when the steward orders ， what can we poor peasants do ？
〃 But one thing has happened well。 The steward and the vicar（who ， for
once， thought to reap some advantage from the caprices of his wife ）
intended to divide the trees between them。 The revenue…office ， being
informed of it， revived an old claim to the ground where the trees had
stood ， and sold them to the best bidder。 There they still lie on the
ground。 If I were the sovereign ， I should know how to deal with them
all ， vicar， steward， and revenue…office。 Sovereign， did I say？ I
should， in that case ， care little about the trees that grew in the
country。
OCTOBER 10。 Only to gaze upon her dark eyes is to me a source of happiness！
And what grieves me ， is ， that Albert does not seem so happy as he
—— hoped to be—— as I should have been—— if —— I am no friend
to these pauses ， but here I cannot express it otherwise ； and probably
I am explicit enough。
OCTOBER 12。 Ossian has superseded Homer in my heart。 To what a world
does the illustrious bard carry me！ To wander over pathless wilds， surrounded
by impetuous whirlwinds ， where， by the feeble light of the moon， we
see the spirits of our ancestors； to hear from the mountain…tops ， mid
the roar of torrents， their plaintive sounds issuing from deep caverns，
and the sorrowful lamentations of a maiden who sighs and expires on the
mossy tomb of the warrior by whom she was adored。 I meet this bard with
silver hair ； he wanders in the valley ； he seeks the footsteps of his
fathers ， and， alas ！ he finds only their tombs。 Then， contemplating
the pale moon ， as she sinks beneath the waves of the rolling sea， the
memory of bygone days strikes the mind of the hero， days when approaching
danger invigorated the brave， and the moon shone upon his bark laden
with spoils ， and returning in triumph。 When I read in his countenance
deep sorrow ， when I see his dying glory sink exhausted into the grave，
as he inhales new and heart…thrilling delight from his approaching union
with his beloved， and he casts a look on the cold earth and the tall
grass which is so soon to cover him ， and then exclaims， 〃The traveller
will e ，—— he will e who has seen my beauty， and he will ask，
'Where is the bard， where is the illustrious son of Fingal ？' He will
walk over my tomb ， and will seek me in vain ！〃 Then， O my friend，
I could instantly ， like a true and noble knight ， draw my sword， and
deliver my prince from the long and painful languor of a living death ，
and dismiss my own soul to follow the demigod whom my hand had set free！
OCTOBER 19。 Alas！ the void the fearful void， which I feel in my
bosom ！ Sometimes I think， if I could