Excerpt from Enchanted Ground: An Episode in the Life of a Young Man Thither go the young men, with the hope and dream of the future in their eyes. They come down to her out of the land of hills and from the broad plains, irresistibly drawn by her fair promises; and there is no going back. While Youth lasts, the City does not release them from her spells. Her spells are Ambition and Opportunity. It is these that make light for Youth the burden of labour, that cause sacrifice and hardship to be welcomed, that strengthen him to face disappointment, neglect, and loneliness. Pleasure also has her palace there, and sings her magical song in the ears of Youth. In the garish, never-sleeping streets of night she walks abroad, attired with witcheries, casting a glamour upon his eyes. And in the City, far from the Land of Hills, here, where the ties of the old life are relaxed or broken, what shall restrain the feet of Youth from following after? About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.