For the rest of the night he sat by himself under the elm-tree. Until this moment it had never seemed to him that his magician ship set him apart from other men. But now he had glimpsed the wrong side of something. He had the eeriest feeling - as if the world were growing older around him, and the best part of existence - laughter, love and innocence - were slipping irrevocably into the past.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell