other and with themselves, all but Raffelas, who in the twenty-fixth year of his age, began to withdraw himself. from their pastimes and affemblies, and to delight in folitary walks and filent me-ditation. He often fat before tables covered with luxury, and forgot to tafte the dainties that were placed before him: he rose abruptly in the midst of the fong, and haftily retired beyond the found of mufick. His attendants obferved the change and endeavoured to renew his love of pleasure: he neglected their officioufnefs, repulfed their invitations, and spent day after day on the banks of rivulets fheltered with trees, where he' fometimes liftened to the birds in the branches, fometimes observed the fish playing in the stream, and anon caft his eyes upon the pastures and mountains B 6

filled

filled with animals, of which some were biting the herbage, and fome fleeping among the bushes.

This fingularity of his humour made him much obferved. One of the Sages, in whofe converfation he had formerly delighted, followed him fecretly, in hope of discovering the cause of his disquiet. Raffelas, who knew not that any one was near him, having for fome time fixed his eyes upon the goats that were broufing among the rocks, began to compare their condition with his own.

"What," said he, "makes the difference between man and all the reft of the animal creation? Every beaft that strays befide me has the fame corporal neceffities with myself; he is hungry and crops the grafs, he is thirsty and drinks the ftream, his thirft and hunger are appeased,

peased, he is satisfied and fleeps; he rifes again and is hungry, he is again fed and is at reft. I am hungry and thirsty like him, but when thirft and hunger cease I am not at reft; I am, like him, pained with want, but am not, like him, fatisfied with fulness. The intermediate hours are tedious and gloomy; I long again to be hungry that I may again quicken my attention. The birds peck the berries or the corn, and fly away to the groves where they fit in feeming happiness on the branches, and waste their lives in tuning one unvaried feries of founds. I likewife can call the lutanift and the finger, but the founds that pleased me yesterday weary me to day, and will grow yet more wearifome toI can discover within me no power of perception which is not glutted

morrow,

with

with its proper pleasure, yet I do not feel myself delighted. Man furely has fome latent sense for which this place affords no gratification, or he has fome defires diftinct from fenfe which must be fatisfied before he can be happy."

After this he lifted up his head, and feeing the moon rifing, walked towards the palace. As he paffed through the fields, and faw the animals around him, "Ye, faid he, are happy, and need not envy me that walk thus among you, burdened with myself; nor do I, ye gentle beings, envy your felicity; for it is not the felicity of man. I have many distresses from which ye are free; I fear pain when I do not feel it; I fometimes fhrink at evils recollected, and sometimes start at evils anticipated: furely

7

furely the equity of providence has balanced peculiar fufferings with peculiar

With obfervations like thefe the prince amused himself as he returned, uttering them with a plaintive voice, yet with a look that discovered him to feel fome complacence in his own perfpicacity, and to receive fome folace of the miseries of life, from consciousness of the delicacy with which he felt, and the eloquence with which he be wailed them. He mingled cheerfully in the diverfions of the evening, and all rejoiced to find that his heart was lightened.

CHAP