第1部分(第5/7 頁)

uld　not　decide　upon　the　form　they　should　take。　I　imagine　him　shrinking　from　the　thought　of　a　first…person　volume；　he　would　feel　it　too　pretentious；　he　would　bid　himself　wait　for　the　day　of　riper　wisdom。　And　so　the　pen　fell　from　his　hand。

Conjecturing　thus；　I　wondered　whether　the　irregular　diary　might　not　have　wider　interest　than　at　first　appeared。　To　me；　its　personal　appeal　was　very　strong；　might　it　not　be　possible　to　cull　from　it　the　substance　of　a　small　volume　which；　at　least　for　its　sincerity's　sake；　would　not　be　without　value　for　those　who　read；　not　with　the　eye　alone；　but　with　the　mind？　I　turned　the　pages　again。　Here　was　a　man　who；　having　his　desire；　and　that　a　very　modest　one；　not　only　felt　satisfied；　but　enjoyed　great　happiness。　He　talked　of　many　different　things；　saying　exactly　what　he　thought；　he　spoke　of　himself；　and　told　the　truth　as　far　as　mortal　can　tell　it。　It　seemed　to　me　that　the　thing　had　human　interest。　I　decided　to　print。

The　question　of　arrangement　had　to　be　considered；　I　did　not　like　to　offer　a　mere　incondite　miscellany。　To　supply　each　of　the　disconnected　passages　with　a　title；　or　even　to　group　them　under　subject　headings；　would　have　interfered　with　the　spontaneity　which；　above　all；　I　wished　to　preserve。　In　reading　through　the　matter　I　had　selected；　it　struck　me　how　often　the　aspects　of　nature　were　referred　to；　and　how　suitable　many　of　the　reflections　were　to　the　month　with　which　they　were　dated。　Ryecroft；　I　knew；　had　ever　been　much　influenced　by　the　mood　of　the　sky；　and　by　the　procession　of　the　year。　So　I　hit　upon　the　thought　of　dividing　the　little　book　into　four　chapters；　named　after　the　seasons。　Like　all　classifications；　it　is　imperfect；　but　'twill　serve。

G。　G。

SPRING

I

For　more　than　a　week　my　pen　has　lai