Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
1
235
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
·
George Gissing
26
I
had
stepped
into
a
new
life.
Between
the
man
I
had
been
and
that
which
I
now
became
there
was
a
very
notable
difference.
In
a
single
day
I
had
matured
astonishingly;
which
means,
no
doubt,
that
I
suddenly
entered
into
conscious
enjoyment
of
powers
and
sensibilities
which
had
been
developing
unknown
to
me.
To
instance
only
one
point:
till
then
I
had
cared
very
little
about
plants
and
flowers,
but
now
I
found
myself
eagerly
interested
in
every
blossom,
in
every
growth
of
the
wayside.
As
I
walked
I
gathered
a
quantity
of
plants,
promising
myself
to
buy
a
book
on
the
morrow
and
identify
them
all.
Nor
was
it
a
passing
humour;
never
since
have
I
lost
my
pleasure
in
the
flowers
of
the
field,
and
my
desire
to
know
them
all.
My
ignorance
at
the
time
of
which
I
speak
seems
to
me
now
very
shameful;
but
I
was
merely
in
the
case
of
ordinary
people,
whether
living
in
town
or
country.
How
many
could
give
the
familiar
name
of
half
a
dozen
plants
plucked
at
random
from
beneath
the
hedge
in
springtime?
To
me
the
flowers
became
symbolical
of
a
great
release,
of
a
wonderful
awakening.
My
eyes
had
all
at
once
been
opened;
till
then
I
had
walked
in
darkness,
yet
knew
it
not.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
