The character reflects on the English countryside, pondering why its beauty resonates deeply beyond mere sight. He expresses a sense of melancholy, suggesting that beauty can evoke sadness. This theme of beauty's transient nature touches him, implying a connection to the inevitability of mortality.

The narrator recalls a childhood conversation with their father, who explained that the awareness of beauty’s fleeting quality allows us to confront our own impermanence. While the father believes the child is too young to grasp this concept, the narrator insists they understand, revealing a mature perspective on the relationship between beauty and the human condition.