On the heels of our glimpse of Eden, the phrase "seen it all from the beginning"
carries a faint universal resonance. It seems to say that the spirit of simplicity
and compassion has watched the whole history of man leaving the garden and clearing
the wilderness, for the sake of ascending the "cliff face" of its silver
mine (i.e., the steep, barren ascent of the dream-ideal). Compare Mrs Gould's
assertion that everyone is always "a little homesick."