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“ My thoughts now became more active , and I longed to discover the motives and feelings of these lovely creatures ; I was inquisitive to know why Felix appeared so miserable and Agatha so sad . I thought ( foolish wretch ! ) that it might be in my power to restore happiness to these deserving people . When I slept or was absent , the forms of the venerable blind father , the gentle Agatha , and the excellent Felix flitted before me . I looked upon them as superior beings who would be the arbiters of my future destiny . I formed in my imagination a thousand pictures of presenting myself to them , and their reception of me . I imagined that they would be disgusted , until , by my gentle demeanour and conciliating words , I should first win their favour and afterwards their love . “ These thoughts exhilarated me and led me to apply with fresh ardour to the acquiring the art of language . My organs were indeed harsh , but supple ; and although my voice was very unlike the soft music of their tones , yet I pronounced such words as I understood with tolerable ease . It was as the ass and the lap - dog ; yet surely the gentle ass whose intentions were affectionate , although his manners were rude , deserved better treatment than blows and execration . “ The pleasant showers and genial warmth of spring greatly altered the aspect of the earth . Men who before this change seemed to have been hid in caves dispersed themselves and were employed in various arts of cultivation . The birds sang in more cheerful notes , and the leaves began to bud forth on the trees . Happy , happy earth ! Fit habitation for gods , which , so short a time before , was bleak , damp , and unwholesome . My spirits were elevated by the enchanting appearance of nature ; the past was blotted from my memory , the present was tranquil , and the future gilded by bright rays of hope and anticipations of joy . ” Chapter 13 “ I now hasten to the more moving part of my story . I shall relate events that impressed me with feelings which , from what I had been , have made me what I am . “ Spring advanced rapidly ; the weather became fine and the skies cloudless . It surprised me that what before was desert and gloomy should now bloom with the most beautiful flowers and verdure . My senses were gratified and refreshed by a thousand scents of delight and a thousand sights of beauty . “ It was on one of these days , when my cottagers periodically rested from labour — the old man played on his guitar , and the children listened to him — that I observed the countenance of Felix was melancholy beyond expression ; he sighed frequently , and once his father paused in his music , and I conjectured by his manner that he inquired the cause of his son’s sorrow . Felix replied in a cheerful accent , and the old man was recommencing his music when someone tapped at the door .
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