Were there not better things than these , things he had once known and loved and forgotten ? Where were the ideals of his youth , the lofty aspirations that had upborne him then ? Where was the eagerness and zest of new dawns , the earnestness of well-filled , purposeful hours of labour , the satisfaction of a good day worthily lived , at eventide the unbroken rest of long , starry nights ? Where might he find them again ? Were they yet to be had for the seeking in the old valley ? With the thought came a great yearning for home . He had had many habitations , but he realized now that he had never thought of any of these places as home . That name had all unconsciously been kept sacred to the long , green , seaward-looking glen where he had been born . So he had come back to it , drawn by a longing not to be resisted . But at the last he felt afraid . There had been many changes , of that he felt sure . Would it still be home ? And if not , would not the loss be most irreparable and bitter ? Would it not be better to go away , having looked at it from the hill and having heard the saga of the firs , keeping his memory of it unblurred , than risk the probable disillusion of a return to the places that had forgotten him and friends whom the varying years must certainly have changed as he had changed himself ? No , he would not go down . It had been a foolish whim to come at all -- foolish , because the object of his quest was not to be found there or elsewhere . He could not enter again into the heritage of boyhood and the heart of youth . He could not find there the old dreams and hopes that had made life sweet . He understood that he could not bring back to the old valley what he had taken from it . He had lost that intangible , all-real wealth of faith and idealism and zest ; he had bartered it away for the hard , yellow gold of the marketplace , and he realized at last how much poorer he was than when he had left that home valley .
His was a name that stood for millions , but he was beggared XXXXX hope and purpose .
So With at for from if in of than to