As I was reading Dream Children by Charles Lamb, I found the sentence:
When he died, though he had not been dead for an hour, it seemed as if he had died a great while ago.
I guess, in modern English, 'ago' would be replaced with 'earlier'. Please let me know if I'm right.
Context: The essayist, in his reverie, sees him ruminating over his childhood before his supposed children and when it comes to the memories of his brother, he regrets that although his brother had carried Lamb on his back when the latter was lame footed, he never was able to carry his brother on his back when the latter was in pain because they both had already grown older and Lamb's brother was elder.
When he died, though he had not been dead for an hour, it seemed as if he had died a great while ago.
I guess, in modern English, 'ago' would be replaced with 'earlier'. Please let me know if I'm right.
Context: The essayist, in his reverie, sees him ruminating over his childhood before his supposed children and when it comes to the memories of his brother, he regrets that although his brother had carried Lamb on his back when the latter was lame footed, he never was able to carry his brother on his back when the latter was in pain because they both had already grown older and Lamb's brother was elder.
