To this spot he had been attached from his infancy. He had often
made excursions to it when a boy, and the impressions of delight
given to his mind by the homely kindness of the grey-headed peasant,
to whom it was intrusted, and whose fruit and cream never failed, had
not been obliterated by succeeding circumstances. The green pastures
along which he had so often bounded in the exultation of health, and
youthful freedom--the woods, under whose refreshing shade he had
first indulged that pensive melancholy, which afterwards made a
strong feature of his character--the wild walks of the mountains, the
river, on whose waves he had floated, and the distant plains, which
seemed boundless as his early hopes--were never after remembered by
St. Aubert but with enthusiasm and regret. At length he disengaged
himself from the world, and retired hither, to realize the wishes of
many years.
The building, as it then stood, was merely a summer cottage, rendered
interesting to a stranger by its neat simplicity, or the beauty of
the surrounding scene; and considerable additions were necessary to
make it a comfortable family residence.
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