There they would hold pleasant intercourse with one another , and the circle of their familiar friends ; there they would give festivals of delicious fruit ; there they would hear lightsome music , intermingled with the strains of pathos which make joy more sweet ; there they would read poetry and fiction , and permit their own minds to flit away in daydreams and romance ; there , in short , -- for why should we shape out the vague sunshine of their hopes ? -- there all pure delights were to cluster like roses among the pillars of the edifice , and blossom ever new and spontaneously . So , one breezy and cloudless afternoon , Adam Forrester and Lilias Fay set out upon a ramble over the wide estate which they were to possess together , seeking a proper site for their Temple of Happiness . They were themselves a fair and happy spectacle , fit priest and priestess for such a shrine ; although , making poetry of the pretty name of Lilias , Adam Forrester was wont to call her LILY , because her form was as fragile , and her cheek almost as pale . As they passed , hand in hand , down the avenue of drooping elms , that led from the portal of Lilies Fay 's paternal mansion , they seemed to glance like winged creatures through the strips of sunshine , and to scatter brightness where the deep shadows fell . But , setting forth at the same time with this youthful pair , there was a dismal figure , wrapped in a black velvet cloak that might have been made of a coffin pall , and with a sombre hat , such as mourners wear , drooping its broad brim over his heavy brows . Glancing behind them , the lovers well knew who it was that followed , but wished from their hearts that he had been elsewhere , as being a companion so strangely unsuited to their joyous errand . It was a near relative of Lilies Fay , an old man by the name of Walter Gascoigne , who had long labored under the burden of a melancholy spirit , which was sometimes maddened into absolute insanity , and always had a tinge of it . What a contrast between the young pilgrims of bliss and their unbidden associate ! They looked as if moulded of Heaven 's sunshine , and he of earth 's gloomiest shade ; they flitted along like Hope and Joy , roaming hand in hand through life ; while his darksome figure stalked behind , a type of all the woeful influences which life could fling upon them . But the three had not gone far , when they reached a spot that pleased the gentle Lily , and she paused . `` What sweeter place shall we find than this ? '' said she . `` Why should we seek farther for the site of our Temple ? '' It was indeed a delightful spot of earth , though undistinguished by any very prominent beauties , being merely a nook in the shelter of a hill , with the prospect of a distant lake in one direction , and of a church-spire in another . There were vistas and pathways leading onward and onward into the green woodlands , and vanishing away in the glimmering shade . The Temple , if erected here , would look towards the west : so that the lovers could shape all sorts of magnificent dreams out of the purple , violet , and gold of the sunset sky ; and few of their anticipated pleasures were dearer than this sport of fantasy . `` Yes , '' said Adam Forrester , `` we might seek all day , and find no lovelier spot . We will build our Temple here . '' But their sad old companion , who had taken his stand on the very site which they proposed to cover with a marble floor , shook his head and frowned ; and the young man and the Lily deemed it almost enough to blight the spot , and desecrate it for their airy Temple , that his dismal figure had thrown its shadow there .
He pointed to some scattered stones , the remnants of a former structure , and XXXXX flowers such as young girls delight to nurse in their gardens , but which had now relapsed into the wild simplicity of nature .
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