Lab
Library
Journal
Shop
Sign in
to keep
Share image
1
235
The Private Papers of Henry Ryecroft
·
George Gissing
89
XI.
I
awoke
a
little
after
four
o'clock.
There
was
sunlight
upon
the
blind,
that
pure
gold
of
the
earliest
beam
which
always
makes
me
think
of
Dante's
angels.
I
had
slept
unusually
well,
without
a
dream,
and
felt
the
blessing
of
rest
through
all
my
frame;
my
head
was
clear,
my
pulse
beat
temperately.
And,
when
I
had
lain
thus
for
a
few
minutes,
asking
myself
what
book
I
should
reach
from
the
shelf
that
hangs
near
my
pillow,
there
came
upon
me
a
desire
to
rise
and
go
forth
into
the
early
morning.
On
the
moment
I
bestirred
myself.
The
drawing
up
of
the
blind,
the
opening
of
the
window,
only
increased
my
zeal,
and
I
was
soon
in
the
garden,
then
out
in
the
road,
walking
light-heartedly
I
cared
not
whither.
How
long
is
it
since
I
went
forth
at
the
hour
of
summer
sunrise?
It
is
one
of
the
greatest
pleasures,
physical
and
mental,
that
any
man
in
moderate
health
can
grant
himself;
yet
hardly
once
in
a
year
do
mood
and
circumstance
combine
to
put
it
within
one's
reach.
The
habit
of
lying
in
bed
hours
after
broad
daylight
is
strange
enough,
if
one
thinks
of
it;
a
habit
entirely
evil;
one
of
the
most
foolish
changes
made
by
modern
system
in
the
healthier
life
of
the
old
time.
But
that
my
energies
are
not
equal
to
such
great
innovation,
I
would
begin
going
to
bed
at
sunset
and
rising
with
the
beam
of
day;
ten
to
one,
it
would
vastly
improve
my
health,
and
undoubtedly
it
would
add
to
the
pleasures
of
my
existence.
Marker
Marker
Fine marker
White-out
Fine white-out
Circle
Paint
Unmarker
Hand
Scalpel
Dice
Sieve
Purify
Undo
Redo
Start over
