“A considerable period elapsed before I discovered one of the causes of the uneasiness of this amiable family: it was poverty, and they suffered that evil in a very distressing degree. Their nourishment consisted entirely of the vegetables of their garden and the milk of one cow, which gave very little during the winter, when its masters could scarcely procure food to support it. They often, I believe, suffered the pangs of hunger very poignantly, especially the two younger cottagers, for several times they placed food before the old man when they reserved none for themselves.
“This trait of kindness moved me sensibly.I had been accustomed, during the night,to steal a part of their store for my own consumption,but when I found that in doing this I inflicted pain on the cottagers,I abstained and satisfied myself with berries, nuts,and roots which I gathered from a neighbouring wood.
“I discovered also another means through which I was enabled to assist their labours. I found that the youth spent a great part of each day in collecting wood for the family fire, and during the night I often took his tools, the use of which I quickly discovered, and brought home firing sufficient for the consumption of several days.
“I remember, the first time that I did this,the young woman, when she opened the door in the morning,appeared greatly astonished on seeing a great pile of wood on the outside.She uttered some words in a loud voice,and the youth joined her, who also expressed surprise.I observed, with pleasure,that he did not go to the forest that day,but spent it in repairing the cottage and cultivating the garden.
“By degrees I made a discovery of still greater moment.I found that these people possessed a method of communicating their experience and feelings to one another by articulate sounds. I perceived that the words they spoke sometimes produced pleasure or pain, smiles or sadness, in the minds and countenances of the hearers. This was indeed a godlike science, and I ardently desired to become acquainted with it. But I was baffled in every attempt I made for this purpose. Their pronunciation was quick, and the words they uttered, not having any apparent connection with visible objects, I was unable to discover any clue by which I could unravel the mystery of their reference. By great application, however, and after having remained during the space of several revolutions of the moon in my hovel, I discovered the names that were given to some of the most familiar objects of discourse; I learned and applied the words, _fire, milk, bread,_ and _wood._ I learned also the names of the cottagers themselves. The youth and his companion had each of them several names, but the old man had only one, which was _father._ The girl was called _sister_ or _Agatha,_ and the youth _Felix, brother,_ or _son_. I cannot describe the delight I felt when I learned the ideas appropriated to each of these sounds and was able to pronounce them. I distinguished several other words without being able as yet to understand or apply them, such as _good, dearest, unhappy._
“I spent the winter in this manner.The gentle manners and beauty of the cottagers greatly endeared them to me;when they were unhappy, I felt depressed;when they rejoiced, I sympathised in their joys.I saw few human beings besides them,and if any other happened to enter the cottage,their harsh manners and rude gait only enhanced to me the superior accomplishments of my friends. The old man, I could perceive, often endeavoured to encourage his children, as sometimes I found that he called them, to cast off their melancholy. He would talk in a cheerful accent, with an expression of goodness that bestowed pleasure even upon me. Agatha listened with respect, her eyes sometimes filled with tears, which she endeavoured to wipe away unperceived; but I generally found that her countenance and tone were more cheerful after having listened to the exhortations of her father. It was not thus with Felix. He was always the saddest of the group, and even to my unpractised senses, he appeared to have suffered more deeply than his friends. But if his countenance was more sorrowful, his voice was more cheerful than that of his sister, especially when he addressed the old man.
“I could mention innumerable instances which,although slight, marked the dispositions of these amiable cottagers.In the midst of poverty and want,Felix carried with pleasure to his sister the first little white flower that peeped out from beneath the snowy ground. Early in the morning, before she had risen, he cleared away the snow that obstructed her path to the milk-house, drew water from the well, and brought the wood from the outhouse, where, to his perpetual astonishment, he found his store always replenished by an invisible hand. In the day, I believe, he worked sometimes for a neighbouring farmer, because he often went forth and did not return until dinner, yet brought no wood with him. At other times he worked in the garden, but as there was little to do in the frosty season, he read to the old man and Agatha.
“This reading had puzzled me extremely at first,but by degrees I discovered that he uttered many of the same sounds when he read as when he talked. I conjectured, therefore, that he found on the paper signs for speech which he understood, and I ardently longed to comprehend these also; but how was that possible when I did not even understand the sounds for which they stood as signs?I improved, however, sensibly in this science,but not sufficiently to follow up any kind of conversation,although I applied my whole mind to the endeavour,for I easily perceived that,although I eagerly longed to discover myself to the cottagers,I ought not to make the attempt until I had first become master of their language, which knowledge might enable me to make them overlook the deformity of my figure, for with this also the contrast perpetually presented to my eyes had made me acquainted.
“I had admired the perfect forms of my cottagers—their grace,beauty, and delicate complexions;but how was I terrified when I viewed myself in a transparent pool!At first I started back,unable to believe that it was indeed I who was reflected in the mirror;and when I became fully convinced that I was in reality the monster that I am,I was filled with the bitterest sensations of despondence and mortification. Alas!I did not yet entirely know the fatal effects of this miserable deformity.
“As the sun became warmer and the light of day longer,the snow vanished, and I beheld the bare trees and the black earth.From this time Felix was more employed,and the heart-moving indications of impending famine disappeared.Their food, as I afterwards found, was coarse,but it was wholesome;and they procured a sufficiency of it.Several new kinds of plants sprang up in the garden,which they dressed;and these signs of comfort increased daily as the season advanced.
“The old man, leaning on his son,walked each day at noon, when it did not rain,as I found it was called when the heavens poured forth its waters.This frequently took place,but a high wind quickly dried the earth,and the season became far more pleasant than it had been.