Salmagundi; or, The whim-whams and opinions of Launcelot Langstaff, esq. [pseud.] and others. By William Irving, James Kirke Paulding and Washington Irving. Printed from the original ed., with a preface and notes by Evert A. Duyckinck.

SENTIMENTAL. 303
days of his youthful romance. Launcelot holds this tree in
particular regard, as he does everything else connected with the
memory of his good uncle John. He was reclining, in one of
his usual brown studies, against its trunk, and gazing pensively
upon the river that glided just by, washing the drooping
branches of the dwarf willows that fringed its bank. IMy
appearance roused him; he grasped my hand with his usual
warmth, and with a tremulous but close pressure, which spoke
that his heart entered into the salutation. After a number of
affectionate inquiries and felicitations, such as friendship, not
form, dictated, he seemed to relapse into his former flow of
thought, and to resume the chain of ideas my appearance had
broken for a moment.
" I was reflecting," said he, "my dear Anthony, upon some
observations I made in our last number; and considering
whether the sight of objects once dear to the affections, or of
scenes where we have passed different happy periods of early
life, really occasions most enjoyment or most regret. Renewing
our acquaintance with well-known but long separated objects,
revives, it is true, the recollection of former pleasures, and
touches the tenderest feelings of the heart; as the flavor of a
delicious beverage will remain upon the palate long after the
cup has parted from the lips. But on the other hand, my friend,
these same objects are too apt to awaken us to a keener recollection of what we were, when they once delighted us; and to
provoke a mortifying and melancholy contrast with what we are
at present. They act, in a manner, as milestones of existence,
showing us how far we have travelled in the journey of lifehow much of our weary but fascinating pilgrimage is accomplished. I look round me, and my eye fondly recognizes the
fields I once sported over, the river in which I once swam, and