第11部分(第4/7 頁)

　the　shore　of　Cumberland；　running　north　to　St。　Bee's　Head；　on　the　sea　horizon　a　faint　shape　which　is　the　Isle　of　Man；　inland；　the　mountains；　which　for　me　at　that　time　guarded　a　region　of　unknown　wonder。　Ah；　how　long　ago！

IX

I　read　much　less　than　I　used　to　do；　I　think　much　more。　Yet　what　is　the　use　of　thought　which　can　no　longer　serve　to　direct　life？　Better；　perhaps；　to　read　and　read　incessantly；　losing　one's　futile　self　in　the　activity　of　other　minds。

This　summer　I　have　taken　up　no　new　book；　but　have　renewed　my　acquaintance　with　several　old　ones　which　I　had　not　opened　for　many　a　year。　One　or　two　have　been　books　such　as　mature　men　rarely　read　at　all……books　which　it　is　one's　habit　to　〃take　as　read〃；　to　presume　sufficiently　known　to　speak　of；　but　never　to　open。　Thus；　one　day　my　hand　fell　upon　the　Anabasis；　the　little　Oxford　edition　which　I　used　at　school；　with　its　boyish　sign…manual　on　the　fly…leaf；　its　blots　and　underlinings　and　marginal　scrawls。　To　my　shame　I　possess　no　other　edition；　yet　this　is　a　book　one　would　like　to　have　in　beautiful　form。　I　opened　it；　I　began　to　read……a　ghost　of　boyhood　stirring　in　my　heart……and　from　chapter　to　chapter　was　led　on；　until　after　a　few　days　I　had　read　the　whole。

I　am　glad　this　happened　in　the　summer…time；　I　like　to　link　childhood　with　these　latter　days；　and　no　better　way　could　I　have　found　than　this　return　to　a　school…book；　which；　even　as　a　school…book；　was　my　great　delight。

By　some　trick　of　memory　I　always　associate　school…boy　work　on　the　classics　with　a　sense　of　warm　and　sunny　days；　rain　and　gloom　and　a　chilly　atmosphere　must　have　been　far　the　more　frequent　conditions；　but　these　things　are　forgotten。　My　old　Liddell　and　Scott　still　serves　me；　and　if；　in　opening　it；　I　bend　close　enough　to　catch　the　SC