None of these things had she ever seen; nothing of what
we saw every day from the windows of the chalet.
"'What an ironical commentary on the gifts of Fortune!' thought I, as I
sat looking out of the window at the mist, in expectation of the sun's
appearing once more, 'to be blind in this place! here in presence of
Nature in its sublimest form, of such limitless grandeur! To be blind!
Oh, Almighty God, who shall dare to dispute Thy impenetrable decrees, or
who shall venture to murmur at the severity of Thy justice, even when its
weight falls on an innocent child? But to be thus blind in the presence
of Thy grandest creations, of creations which ceaselessly renew our
enthusiasm, our love, and our adoration for Thy genius, Thy power, and
Thy goodness; of what crime can this poor child have been guilty thus
to deserve Thy chastisement?'
"And my reflections continually reverted to this topic.
"I asked myself, too, what compensation Divine pity could make its
creature for the deprival of its greatest blessing, and, finding none, I
began to doubt its power.
"'Man, in his presumption,' said the royal poet, 'dares to glorify
himself in his knowledge, and judge the Eternal.
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