CHAPTER XI.
There are some emotions which so overpower the mind as not only to defy description, but even the full perception of them. A dull sense of unreality, of unnaturalness, of want of sequence prevents our appreciating even the happiest turns of fortune if they come with too great suddenness. The greatness of the surprise, the shock and upsetting of our ideas, caused by a great calamity or great happiness, exercises a numbing influence over the intellect. After years of hopeless captivity the Prisoner of Chillon "regained his freedom with a sigh." So to myself, after having mourned my daughter's death for years, the shock of her sudden reappearance seemed almost painful. How could it be true? Yet there she was, older indeed but nobler-looking than ever, walking up the humble street amid the shouts and tears of all our
