Human character in its individual developments—humannature in the mass—may best be studied in its wishes；and this was the record of them all. There was an endlessdiversity of mode and circumstance， yet withal such asimilarity in the real ground-work， that any one page of thevolume—whether written in the days before the Flood， orthe yesterday that is just gone by， or to be written on themorrow that is close at hand， or a thousand ages hence—might serve as a specimen of the whole. Not but thatthere were wild sallies of fantasy that could scarcely occurto more than one man’s brain， whether reasonable orlunatic. The strangest wishes—yet most incident to menwho had gone deep into scientific pursuits， and attaineda high intellectual stage， though not the loftiest—were，to contend with Nature， and wrest from her some secret，or some power， which she had seen fit to withhold frommortal grasp. She loves to delude her aspiring students，and mock them with mysteries that seem but just beyondtheir utmost reach. To concoct new minerals—to producenew forms of vegetable life—to create an insect， if nothinghigher in the living scale—is a sort of wish that has oftenrevelled in the breast of a man of science. An astronomer，who lived far more among the distant worlds of spacethan in this lower sphere， recorded a wish to behold theopposite side of the moon， which， unless the system ofthe firmament be reversed， she can never turn towards theearth. On the same page of the volume， was written thewish of a little child， to have the stars for playthings.
The most ordinary wish， that was written down withwearisome recurrence， was， of course， for wealth， wealth，wealth， in sums from a few shillings up to unreclionablethousands. But， in reality， this often repeated expressioncovered as many different desires. Wealth is the goldenessence of the outward world， embodying almosteverything that exists beyond the limits of the soul； andtherefore it is the natural yearning for the life in themidst of which we find ourselves， and of which gold is thecondition of enjoyment， that men abridge into this generalwish. Here and there， it is true， the volume testified tosome heart so perverted as to desire gold for its own sake.
Many wished for power； a strange desire， indeed， since itis but another form of slavery. Old people wished for thedelights of youth； a fop， for a fashionable coat； an idlereader， for a new novel； a versifier， for a rhyme to somestubborn word； a painter， for Titian’s secret of coloring；a prince， for a cottage； a republican， for a kingdom and apalace； a libertine， for his neighbor’s wife； a man of palate，for green peas； and a poor man， for a crust of bread. Theambitious desires of public men， elsewhere so craftilyconcealed， were here expressed openly and boldly， sideby side with the unselfish wishes of the philanthropist，for the welfare of the race， so beautiful， so comforting， incontrast with the egotism that continually weighed selfagainst the world. Into the darker secrets of the Book ofWishes， we will not penetrate.
It would be an instructive employment for a student ofmankind， perusing this volume carefully， and comparingits records with men’s perfected designs， as expressed intheir deeds and daily life， to ascertain how far the oneaccorded with the other. Undoubtedly， in most cases， thecorrespondence would be found remote. The holy andgenerous wish， that rises like incense from a pure hearttowards heaven， often lavishes its sweet perfume on theblast of evil times. The foul， selfish， murderous wish，that steams forth from a corrupted heart， often passesinto the spiritual atmosphere， without being concretedinto an earthly deed. Yet this volume is probably truer，as a representation of the human heart， than is the livingdrama of action， as it evolves around us. There is moreof good and more of evil in it； more redeeming pointsof the bad， and more errors of the virtuous； higher upsoarings，and baser degradation of the soul； in short， amore perplexing amalgamation of vice and virtue， thanwe witness in the outward world. Decency， and externalconscience， often produce a far fairer outside， than iswarranted by the stains within. And be it owned， on theother hand， that a man seldom repeats to his nearestfriend， any more than he realizes in act， the purest wishes，which， at some blessed time or other， have arisen from thedepths of his nature， and witnessed for him in this volume.