He had hoped to finish sooner, but it is no wonder that he found his work grow under his hands when he passed from design to execution.

"A long while ago, when I contemplated the distant prospect of my work," he writes to Lord Sheffield, "I gave you and myself some hopes of landing in England last autumn; but alas! when autumn grew near, hills began to rise on hills, Alps on Alps, and I found my journey far more tedious and toilsome than I had imagined.

When I look back on the length of the undertaking and the variety of materials, I cannot accuse or suffer myself to be accused of idleness; yet it appeared that unless I doubled my diligence, another year, and perhaps more, would elapse before I could embark with my complete manuscript.

Under these circumstances I took, and am still executing, a bold and meritorious resolution.

The mornings in winter, and in a country of early dinners, are very concise.