第7部分(第1/7 页)

the　floor；　and　a　repetition　of　all　the　gleam　and　shadowof　the　picture；　with　one　remove　farther　from　the　actual；　and　nearer　tothe　imaginative。　Then；　at　such　an　hour；　and　with　this　scene　beforehim；　if　a　man；　sitting　all　alone；　cannot　dream　strange　things；　andmake　them　look　like　truth；　he　need　never　try　to　write　romances。 But；　for　myself；　during　the　whole　of　my　Custom…House　experience；moonlight　and　sunshine；　and　the　glow　of　firelight；　were　just　alikein　my　regard；　and　neither　of　them　was　of　one　whit　more　avail　thanthe　twinkle　of　a　tallow…candle。　An　entire　class　of　susceptibilities；and　a　gift　connected　with　them…　of　no　great　richness　or　value；　but　thebest　I　had…　was　gone　from　me。 It　is　my　belief；　however；　that；　had　I　attempted　a　different　order　ofposition；　my　faculties　would　not　have　been　found　so　pointless　andinefficacious。　I　might；　for　instance；　have　contented　myself　withwriting　out　the　narratives　of　a　veteran　shipmaster；　one　of　theInspectors；　whom　I　should　be　most　ungrateful　not　to　mention；　sincescarcely　a　day　passed　that　he　did　not　stir　me　to　laughter　andadmiration　by　his　marvellous　gifts　as　a　story…teller。　Could　I　havepreserved　the　picturesque　force　of　his　style；　and　the　humorouscolouring　which　nature　taught　him　how　to　throw　over　hisdescriptions；　the　result；　I　honestly　believe；　would　have　beensomething　new　in　literature。　Or　I　might　readily　have　found　a　moreserious　task。　It　was　a　folly；　with　the　materiality　of　this　dailylife　pressing　so　intrusively　upon　me；　to　attempt　to　fling　myselfback　into　another　age；　or　to　insist　on　creating　the　semblance　of　aworld　out　of　airy　matter；　when；　at　every　moment；　the　impalpable　beautyof　my　soap…bubble　was　broken　by　the　rude　contact　of　some　actualcircumstance。　The　wiser　effort　would　have　been；　to　diffuse　thought　andimagination　throug