Holiness,
purification, abstraction, devotion, but in such light and freedom
as no church possesses. The lapse of time, the past were
forgotten; it was as though he had never been away, as though no
other place had ever known him.
Indescribable, for the intensity of his feelings surpassed
anything that he had hitherto known. New sensations, impressions
of beauty absolutely forgotten since childhood, or remembered but
imperfectly, crowded upon him, speaking to him like welcoming
spirits.
The altered contour of the hills, the dear familiar smell, the sky
which seemed lower and yet farther off, the effects of light in
colder tones, but paler and more delicate. Nowhere a broad plain,
an endless expanse. No! all was diversified, full of contrast,
broken; not lofty, still unique, fresh, he had almost said
tumultuous.
Each moment he felt more in accord with his memories, his nature
was in harmony with it all.
He paused between each stroke of the oars, soothed by the gentle
motion; the boat glided on, he had not concerned himself whither,
when he heard from behind the sound of oars which was not the echo
of his own.
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