第26章

theironlyregretisthattheyaresosoontoquitit；butoh，yedeardeludedhearts，itisnoteveryonewhoissofortunate!

Tothegeneralityofmankindthereisnoperiodlikeyouth。Thegeneralityarefarfromfortunate；buttheperiodofyouth，eventotheleastso，offersmomentsofconsiderablehappiness，fortheyarenotonlydisposedbutabletoenjoymostthingswithintheirreach。Withwhattriflesatthatperiodarewecontent；thethingsfromwhichinafter-lifeweshouldturnawayindisdainpleaseusthen，forweareinthemidstofagoldencloud，andeverythingseemsdeckedwithagoldenhue。Neverduringanyportionofmylifedidtimeflowonmorespeedilythanduringthetwoorthreeyearsimmediatelysucceedingtheperiodtowhichwearrivedintheprecedingchapter：sincethenithasflaggedoftenenough；

sometimesithasseemedtostandentirelystill；andthereadermayeasilyjudgehowitfaresatthepresent，fromthecircumstanceofmytakingpeninhand，andendeavouringtowritedownthepassagesofmylife-alastresourcewithmostpeople。ButattheperiodtowhichIalludeIwasjust，asImaysay，enteringuponlife；I

hadadoptedaprofession，and，tokeepupmycharacter，simultaneouslywiththatprofession-thestudyofanewlanguage。

Ispeedilybecameaproficientintheone，buteverremainedanoviceintheother：anoviceinthelaw，butaperfectmasterintheWelshtongue。

Yes；verypleasanttimeswerethose，whenwithinthewombofaloftydealdesk，behindwhichIsatforsomeeighthourseveryday，transcribing(whenIimaginedeyeswereuponme)documentsofeverydescriptionineverypossiblehand，BlackstonekeptcompanywithAbGwilym-thepolishedEnglishlawyerofthelastcentury，whowrotelongandprosychaptersontherightsofthings-withacertainwildWelshman，whosomefourhundredyearsbeforethattimeinditedimmortalcowyddsandodestothewivesofCambrianchieftains-

moreparticularlytooneMorfydd，thewifeofacertainhunchbackeddignitarycalledbythepoetfacetiouslyBwaBach-generallyterminatingwiththemodestrequestofalittleprivateparlancebeneaththegreenwoodbough，withnootherwitnessthantheeos，ornightingale，arequestwhich，ifthepoethimselfmaybebelieved，ratheradoubtfulpoint，wasseldom，veryseldom，denied。AndbywhatstrangechancehadAbGwilymandBlackstone，twopersonagessoexceedinglydifferent，beenthusbroughttogether？Fromwhatthereaderalreadyknowsofme，hemaybequitepreparedtofindmereadingtheformer；butwhatcouldhaveinducedmetotakeupBlackstone，orratherthelaw？

Ihaveeverlovedtobeasexplicitaspossible；onwhichaccount，perhaps，Ineverattainedtoanyproficiencyinthelaw，theessenceofwhichissaidtobeambiguity；mostquestionsmaybeansweredinafewwords，andthisamongtherest，thoughconnectedwiththelaw。MyparentsdeemeditnecessarythatIshouldadoptsomeprofession，theynamedthelaw；thelawwasasagreeabletomeasanyotherprofessionwithinmyreach，soIadoptedthelaw，andtheconsequencewas，thatBlackstone，probablyforthefirsttime，foundhimselfincompanywithAbGwilym。ByadoptingthelawIhadnotceasedtobeLavengro。

SoIsatbehindadeskmanyhoursintheday，ostensiblyengagedintranscribingdocumentsofvariouskinds；thesceneofmylabourswasastrangeoldhouse，occupyingonesideofalongandnarrowcourt，intowhich，however，thegreaternumberofthewindowslookednot，butintoanextensivegarden，filledwithfruittrees，intherearofalarge，handsomehouse，belongingtoah