Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Gem.
in the painful infirmities of childhood , but as you now behold me ; the cist which for ages had encrusted the gem upon your finger , and confined my essence in its prison was broken , and in an instant I found myself a thing of" thought , perceptions , and power . I have been the prize of the victorious robber , the bribe of beauty , glutted in the regal circlet of kings , the crosier of priests , but never yet found a master possessed of the visionary happiness for which sih . "
you g " Is it then a dream ? " demanded Walter . " As idle as the wildest fancy of your youth , as unsubstantial as a dream , the bubble on the foaming waters is not more hollow than the vision - happiness . " " "What then is left to man ? you chill my feelings by this more than scepticism , if all that I have dreamt of , if happiness be denied , what shall we seek ? "
" Content ; " resumed the Spirit , " that better wisdom which will serve thee through all the stern realities of life . Man ' s only real friend . It will teach thee to view the dispensations of the Almighty hand as a peculiar blessing , to bear the ills humanity is heir to with more than patience , as the wisest operation of the Almighty power . Listen to me , the earth was fair and beautiful at the moment when Tubal Cain changed the nature of my being by destroying the shell in which I was imprisoned ; the crimes of man have since fearfully changed its aspect : blood
hath dyed its fairest fields : the hand of violence passed o ' er its loveliest valleys . With all the novelty of my new existence fresh upon me , I gazed upon the scene around , ancl the being to whom I was indebted for my change ; a fire blazed upon the rude pile of stones beside him , and masses of metal lay half forged in confusion around , a palmetto leaf gave breath to his forge , ancl his tools were constructed of flints bound to their handles with thongs cut from the hide of the deer or other victims of the chase—he was gazing upon the gem with rapture—' twas
the first time it had ever met his gaze—its brightness and purity delighted him , ancl with all the eagerness of a child of genius , he stooped to examine its qualities and hardness . ' To what use can I apply thee , ' he exclaimed , ' thou sparkling stranger ? I cannot till the earth with thee , or fasten thee as an head to my swift arrow . No matter ; time will show me thy utility . I have by patience and industry discovered much ; science hath been to me a yielding mistress . Yet , ' he added with a
sigh , ' gladly would I exchange her favours for the love of Lelia . '" " How , was not Tubal Cain—the gifted , the wise—was he not happy ? " "He was content , " replied the Spirit ; "but even to him was happiness denied ; for Lelia , the young and beautiful descendant of Abel , loved another . The triumphs of art ceased to be triumphs when she refused to smile upon them , and the rejected suitor sought in the diffusion of the wisdom he had attained , consolation for her loss . " " Lelia at . lpast wr « hlrc . sp . tl ? ''
"Thou hadst not said so hadst thou seen her sorrow . The youth on whom her young heart ' s hope was centred was ahunter , agile and strong of limb , but reckless in the forest . The morn before her nuptials ho was discovered dead—the fierce monarch of the wood had turned and rent liim . "
"Poori . elia ! well can I picture thy despair , said Walter . " I too have lost the only tie that bound my heart to life . Death hath stepped between my joy and me : this ring , with which mysterious being thy existence seems connected , was the gift of my dead Helen . " " Thankless mortal \ couldst thou behold the cancelled page thus
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
The Gem.
in the painful infirmities of childhood , but as you now behold me ; the cist which for ages had encrusted the gem upon your finger , and confined my essence in its prison was broken , and in an instant I found myself a thing of" thought , perceptions , and power . I have been the prize of the victorious robber , the bribe of beauty , glutted in the regal circlet of kings , the crosier of priests , but never yet found a master possessed of the visionary happiness for which sih . "
you g " Is it then a dream ? " demanded Walter . " As idle as the wildest fancy of your youth , as unsubstantial as a dream , the bubble on the foaming waters is not more hollow than the vision - happiness . " " "What then is left to man ? you chill my feelings by this more than scepticism , if all that I have dreamt of , if happiness be denied , what shall we seek ? "
" Content ; " resumed the Spirit , " that better wisdom which will serve thee through all the stern realities of life . Man ' s only real friend . It will teach thee to view the dispensations of the Almighty hand as a peculiar blessing , to bear the ills humanity is heir to with more than patience , as the wisest operation of the Almighty power . Listen to me , the earth was fair and beautiful at the moment when Tubal Cain changed the nature of my being by destroying the shell in which I was imprisoned ; the crimes of man have since fearfully changed its aspect : blood
hath dyed its fairest fields : the hand of violence passed o ' er its loveliest valleys . With all the novelty of my new existence fresh upon me , I gazed upon the scene around , ancl the being to whom I was indebted for my change ; a fire blazed upon the rude pile of stones beside him , and masses of metal lay half forged in confusion around , a palmetto leaf gave breath to his forge , ancl his tools were constructed of flints bound to their handles with thongs cut from the hide of the deer or other victims of the chase—he was gazing upon the gem with rapture—' twas
the first time it had ever met his gaze—its brightness and purity delighted him , ancl with all the eagerness of a child of genius , he stooped to examine its qualities and hardness . ' To what use can I apply thee , ' he exclaimed , ' thou sparkling stranger ? I cannot till the earth with thee , or fasten thee as an head to my swift arrow . No matter ; time will show me thy utility . I have by patience and industry discovered much ; science hath been to me a yielding mistress . Yet , ' he added with a
sigh , ' gladly would I exchange her favours for the love of Lelia . '" " How , was not Tubal Cain—the gifted , the wise—was he not happy ? " "He was content , " replied the Spirit ; "but even to him was happiness denied ; for Lelia , the young and beautiful descendant of Abel , loved another . The triumphs of art ceased to be triumphs when she refused to smile upon them , and the rejected suitor sought in the diffusion of the wisdom he had attained , consolation for her loss . " " Lelia at . lpast wr « hlrc . sp . tl ? ''
"Thou hadst not said so hadst thou seen her sorrow . The youth on whom her young heart ' s hope was centred was ahunter , agile and strong of limb , but reckless in the forest . The morn before her nuptials ho was discovered dead—the fierce monarch of the wood had turned and rent liim . "
"Poori . elia ! well can I picture thy despair , said Walter . " I too have lost the only tie that bound my heart to life . Death hath stepped between my joy and me : this ring , with which mysterious being thy existence seems connected , was the gift of my dead Helen . " " Thankless mortal \ couldst thou behold the cancelled page thus