My pursuits were of the same tendency:
constant variety and change of scene were what I coveted. I felt a
desire "to be imprisoned in the viewless winds, and blown with restless
violence about the pendent world." At night I was happy; for as soon as
sleep had sealed my eyes, I invariably dreamt that I had the power of
aerostation, and, in my imagination, cleaved through the air with the
strength of an eagle, soaring above my fellow-creatures, and looking
down upon them and their ceaseless drudgery with contempt.
To a mind thus constituted by nature, and unchecked by counsel, it is
not surprising that the darling wish and constant idea was to roam the
world; and the vast ocean, which offered to me the means of gratifying
my passion, was an object of love and adoration. If I had not the wings
of the eagle with which fancy had supplied me in my dreams, still I
could fly before the wings of the wind, and, as in my aerial excursions
when asleep, leave no track behind. As soon as I had arrived at the age
which allowed me to take possession of my property, I sought the element
so congenial to my disposition. For some years I continued the
profession, and was fortunate in my speculations; but I cared little for
gain; my delight was in roving from clime to clime, flying before the
gale,--in looking with defiance at the vast mountainous seas which
threatened to overwhelm me,--in the roaring of the wind,--in the mad
raging of the surf,--in the excitement of battle, even in the
destruction and disasters of the wreck.
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