If I have,
indeed, produced any such effect by my writings, it will be a soothing
reflection to me, that for once, in the course of a rather negligent
life, I have been useful; that for once, by the casual exercise of a
pen which has been in general but too unprofitably employed, I have
awakened a cord of sympathy between the land of my fathers and the
dear land that gave me birth.
In the spirit of these sentiments, I now take my farewell of the
paternal soil. With anxious eye do I behold the clouds of doubt and
difficulty that are lowering over it, and earnestly do I hope that
they may all clear up into serene and settled sunshine. In bidding
this last adieu, my heart is filled with fond, yet melancholy
emotions; and still I linger, and still, like a child leaving the
venerable abodes of his forefathers, I turn to breathe forth a filial
benediction: Peace be within thy walls, O England! and plenteousness
within thy palaces; for my brethren and my companions' sake I will now
say, Peace be within thee!
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Bracebridge Hall, or The Humorists
by Washington Irving
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BRACEBRIDGE HALL, OR THE HUMORISTS ***
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