no young man believes he shall ever die. it was a saying of my brother's,and a fine one. there is a feeling of eternity in youth, which makes us amendfor everything. to be young is to be as one of the immortal gods. one half oftime indeed is flown-the other half remains in store for us with all itscountletreasures; for there is no line drawn, and we see no limit to our hopesand wishes. we make the coming age our own-
the vast, the unbounded prospect lies before us.
death. old age. are words without a meaning. that paby us like the idea airwhich we regard not. others may have undergone, or may still be liable tothem-we "bear a charmed life“, which laughs to scorn all such sickly fancies. asin setting out on delightful journey, we strain our eager gaze forward-
bidding the lovely scenes at distance hail!
and see no end to the landscape, new objects presenting themselves as weadvance; so, in the commencement of life, we set no bounds to our inclinations.nor to the unrestricted opportunities of gratifying them. we have as yet foundno obstacle, no disposition to flag; and it seems that we can go on so forever.we look round in a new world, full of life, and motion, and ceaseleprogress; andfeel in ourselves all the vigor and spirit to keep pace with it, and do notforesee from any present symptoms how we shall be left behind in the naturalcourse of things, decline into old age, and drop into the grave. it is thesimplicity, and as it were abstractedneof our feelings in youth, that (so tospeak) identifies us with nature, and (our experience being slight and ourpassions strong) deludes us into a belief of being immortal like it. ourshort-lives connection with existence we fondly flatter ourselves, is anindissoluble and lasting union-a honeymoon that knows neither coldness, jar, norseparation. as infants smile and sleep, we are rocked in the cradle of ourwayward fancies, and lulled into security by the roar of the universe aroundus0we quaff the cup of life with eager haste without draining it, instead ofwhich it only overflows the more-objects prearound us, filling the mind withtheir magnitude and with the strong of desires that wait upon them, so that wehave no room for the thoughts of death.
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