plague, I have thought much on death, and asked myself, now that all

mankind is dead to this life, to what other life they may have been borne.

Hour after hour, I have dwelt on these thoughts, and strove to form a

rational conclusion concerning the mystery of a future state. What a

scare-crow, indeed, would death be, if we were merely to cast aside the

shadow in which we now walk, and, stepping forth into the unclouded

sunshine of knowledge and love, revived with the same companions, the same

affections, and reached the fulfilment of our hopes, leaving our fears with

our earthly vesture in the grave. Alas! the same strong feeling which makes

me sure that I shall not wholly die, makes me refuse to believe that I

shall live wholly as I do now. Yet, Lionel, never, never, can I love any

but you; through eternity I must desire your society; and, as I am innocent

of harm to others, and as relying and confident as my mortal nature

permits, I trust that the Ruler of the world will never tear us asunder."

"Your remarks are like yourself, dear love," replied I, "gentle and good;

let us cherish such a belief, and dismiss anxiety from our minds. But,

sweet, we are so formed, (and there is no sin, if God made our nature, to

yield to what he ordains), we are so formed, that we must love life, and

cling to it; we must love the living smile, the sympathetic touch, and

thrilling voice, peculiar to our mortal mechanism. Let us not, through

security in hereafter, neglect the present. This present moment, short as

it is, is a part of eternity, and the dearest part, since it is our own

unalienably. Thou, the hope of my futurity, art my present joy. Let me then

look on thy dear eyes, and, reading love in them, drink intoxicating

pleasure."

446

The Last Man