To a mind thus constituted by nature, and unchecked by counsel, it is not surprising that the darling wish and constant idea was to roam the world; and the vast ocean, which offered to me the means of gratifying my passion, was an object of love and adoration.  If I had not the wings of the eagle with which fancy had supplied me in my dreams, still I could fly before the wings of the wind, and, as in my aerial excursions when asleep, leave no track behind.  As soon as I had arrived at the age which allowed me to take possession of my property, I sought the element so congenial to my disposition.  For some years I continued the profession, and was fortunate in my speculations; but I cared little for gain; my delight was in roving from clime to clime, flying before the gale,—­in looking with defiance at the vast mountainous seas which threatened to overwhelm me,—­in the roaring of the wind,—­in the mad raging of the surf,—­in the excitement of battle, even in the destruction and disasters of the wreck.

It may be a source of astonishment that I arrived at the age of thirty without ever feeling the sensation of love; but so it was.  This most powerful of excitements, which was so to influence my future existence, had not yet been called into action:  but it was roused at last, and, like the hurricane, swept every thing before it in ruin and desolation.  I was at Cadiz, where I had arrived with a valuable cargo, when it was proposed that I should witness the ceremony of taking the White Veil.  As the young woman who professed was of a noble family, and the solemnity was to be conducted with the greatest splendour, I consented.  The magnificent decorations of the church, the harmony of the singing, the solemn pealing of the organ, the splendid robes of the priests in contrast with the sombre humility of the friars and nuns, the tossing of the censers, the ascending clouds of frankincense, and, above all, the extreme beauty of the fair devotee,—­produced feelings of interest which I had not imagined could have been raised from any description of pageantry.  When the ceremony was over, I quitted the church with new and powerful sensations, which at the time I could not precisely analyse.  But when I lay down on my couch, I perceived that, although the splendour of the rites were but faint in my recollection, the image of the sweet girl kneeling before the altar was engraven on my heart.  I felt an uneasiness, a restlessness, a vacuum in my bosom, which, like that in the atmosphere, is the forerunner of the tempest.  I could not sleep; but, tossing from one side to the other during the whole night, rose the next morning feverish and unrefreshed.

Following, as usual, the impulse of my feelings, I repaired to her relative, who had taken me to witness the ceremony, and persuaded him to introduce me at the wicket of the convent.