Yes, anticipated and ardently hoped for; but could it be expected by Fawcett himself, doomed as he was to idleness by the condition of his eyes, his doctor’s warnings, and their orders for absolute rest—and unfitted as he now was for work, and able only to send an occasional letter to the papers on matters of current interest? He was staying at his father’s house at Longford with such patience as he could muster. He, however, enjoyed sitting in the fields near Salisbury and listening to the sounds about him. The murmuring streams, the songs of birds, and the hum of drowsy insects seemed to bring him comfort and rest. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WINNING BACK ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ‘If you can meet with triumph and disaster And treat those two impostors just the same.’ KIPLING. ‘Life is sweet, brother.’ . . . . . . ‘In sickness, Jasper?’ ‘There’s the sun and the stars, brother.’ ‘In blindness, Jasper?’ ‘There’s the wind on the heath.’ BORROW. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER V DARKNESS A Shooting Accident—Blindness—Readjustment. [Sidenote: A Shooting Accident.] Unfortunate as was the fate which condemned him to so much trouble with his eyes, it was a fortunate and strange preparation for what was to follow. Obedient to his physician’s injunctions to give up work, Fawcett remained with his family near Salisbury. On 15 September 1858, he went shooting with his father. Together they climbed Harnham Hill. Fawcett turned to look back at the glorious view, bathed in an autumn light, the trees, already turning to gold, the village nestled in the valley through which the river Avon wound, the spire of the great cathedral touched with glory by the setting sun. To Fawcett this was one of the loveliest views in England: he looked on all this beauty for the last time.