Why was my mind absorbed in thoughts ominous and dreary?
Why did my bosom heave with sighs, and my eyes overflow with tears?
Was the tempest that had just past a signal of the ruin which impended over me?
My soul fondly dwelt upon the images of my brother and his children, yet they only increased the mournfulness of my contemplations.

The smiles of the charming babes were as bland as formerly.

The same dignity sat on the brow of their father, and yet I thought of them with anguish.

Something whispered that the happiness we at present enjoyed was set on mutable foundations.
Death must happen to all.

Whether our felicity was to be subverted by it to-morrow, or whether it was ordained that we should lay down our heads full of years and of honor, was a question that no human being could solve.