



Produced by David Edwards, Mary Glenn Krause, Eleni
Christofaki and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team
at http://www.pgdp.net (This book was produced from a file
downloaded from the British Library)









Transcriber's note

This e-book has been transcribed from the author's hand-written
manuscript, downloaded from the British Library. The original text and
the pagination have both been retained. For the reader's convenience an
edited version follows, where punctuation, capitalisation and spelling
have been normalised.

The following changes have been made to both the original and the
edited version:

Leaf numbers, as they appear in the original, are shown in [brackets].

The name "ODonell" was changed to "O'Donell".

Ampersand (&) was changed to "and".




                   [1] The Search after Happiness

                              A Tale by C
                                Bronte

                      August the seventeenth 1829




                         [2] THE SEARCH AFTER
                               HAPINESS

                               A TALE BY
                               CHARLOTTE
                                BRONTE

                          PRINTED BY HERSELF
                                  AND
                                SOLD BY
                            NOBODY &ct &ct

                                AUGUST
                                  THE
                              SEVENTEENTH
                           EIGHTEEN HUNDRED
                                AND on
                              Twenty nine




Preface


The persons meant by the Chief of the city and his Sons are the Duke of
Wellington the Marquis of Duro and Lord Wellesly the city is the Glass
town Henry O'Donell and Alexander Delancy are Captain Tarry-not-at-home
and Monsieur Like-to-live-in-lonely-places

  Charlotte Bronte

  August the 17
  1829




[3] A TALE BY

CB July 28 1829

The search after happiness

chapter I


NOT many years ago there lived in a certain city a person of the name
of Henry O'Donell, in figure he was tall of a dark complexion and
searching black eye, his mind was strong and unbending his disposition
uncosiable and though respected by many he was loved by few. the
city where he resided was very great and magnificent it was governed
by a warior a mighty man of valour whose deeds had resounded to the
ends of the earth. this soldier had 2 son's who were at that time of
the seperate age's of 6 and 7 years Henry--O'Donell was a nobleman
of great consequence in the city and a peculiar favourite with the
governor before whose glance his stern mind would bow and at his comand
O'Donells selfwill would be overcome and while playing with the young
princes he would forget his usual sulleness of demeanour the day's of
his childhood returned upon him and he would be a merry as the youngest
who was gay indeed. one day at court a quarrel ensued between him and
another noble words came to blows and O'Donell struck his oponent a
violent blow on the left cheek at this the miliatry King started up and
commanded O'Donell to apologize this he imediatly did, but from that
hour the spell of discontent seemed to have been cast over him and he
resolved to quit the city. the evening before he put this resolution
into practise he had an interview with the King and returned quite an
altered man. before he seemed stern and intractable now he was only
meditative and sorrowful as he was passing the inner court of the
palace he perceived the 2 young princes at play he called them and they
came runing to him. I am going far from this city and shall most likely
never see you again said O'Donell. where are you going? I canot tell
then why do you go away from us why do you go from your own house and
lands from this great and splendid city to you know not where because I
am not happy here. And if you are not happy here where you have every
thing for which you can whish do you expect to be happy when you are
dying of hunger or thirst in a desert or longing for the society of men
when you are thousands of miles of miles From any human being. how do
you know that that will be my case? it is very likely that it will. and
if it was I am determined to go. take this then that you may sometimes
rememberus when you dwell with only the wild beast of the desert or
the great eagle of the mountain, said they as they each gave him a
curling lock of their hair yes I will take it my princes and I shall
rember you and the mighty warrior King your father even when the angel
of Death has stretched forth his bony arm against me and I am within
the confines of his dreary kingdom the cold damp grave replied O'Donell
as the tears rushed to his eyes and he once more embraced the little
princes and then quitted them it might be for ever----




CHAPTER. THE II


THE Dawn of the next morning found O'Donell on the sumit of a High
mountain which overlooked the city he had stopped to take a farewell
view of the place of his nativity. all along the eastern horizon there
was a rich glowing light which as it rose gradually melted into the
pale blue of the sky in which just over the light there was still
visible the silver crescent of the moon in a short time the sun began
to rise in golden glory casting his splendid radiance over all the
face of nature and illuminating the magnificent city in the midst of
which towering in silent grandeur there appeared the Palace where
dwelt the mighty Prince of that great and beautiful city. all around
the brazen gates and massive walls of which there flowed the majestic
stream of the Guadima whose Banks where bordered by splendid palaces
and magnificent gardens behind these stretching for many a league were
fruitful plains and forests whose shade seemed almost impenetrable to
a single ray of light while in the distace blue mountains were seen
raising their heads to the sky and forming a misty girdle to the plains
of Dahomey. on the whole of this grand and beautiful prospect [4]
O'Donells gaze was long and fixed but his last look was to the palace
of the King and a tear stood in his eye as he said ernestly may he be
preserved