midst of the story to imagine how it will turn out, and then compare my own fancy with the image which nature or art had created. In the case of art, I am so sharp that I can generally guess right; and then how I laugh at my own cleverness! But the old witch, life, is often too much for me! — her resources are beyond our feeble comprehension. There is only one part of the tale which she never troubles herself to vary; all her stories end in the same way — wit, war, love — you know what happens to them — they disappear into the darkness; and on this one point she certainly does repeat herself.
She is like a naughty child, breaking her toys when she is tired of them, till I am provoked to blame her for being so destructive, and snatch the pieces out of her hands; but it is too late; they are broken past repair; and all that I can do, is to cherish what is left, as Glodie rocks the remains of her doll in her arms.
At each revolution of the dial this Death comes nearer and nearer, like a beautiful refrain: " Strike hour! ring bells, ding dong ding." Now, I fancy myself Cyrus, Emperor of Persia, Conqueror of Asia; hear what I say: — "Friend, envy me not the small space of earth, which covers my poor body." — I stand beside Alexander as he reads this epitaph
