Emmeline, the Orphan of the CastleSmith, Charlotte
General
Emmeline, the Orphan of the Castle
Smith, Charlotte
Gothic fiction; Great Britain -- Social life and customs -- 18th century -- Fiction; Marriage -- Fiction; Single women -- Fiction
The road lay along the side of what would in England be called a
mountain; at its feet rolled the rapid stream that washed the castle
walls, foaming over fragments of rock; and bounded by a wood of oak and
pine; among which the ruins of the monastery, once an appendage to the
castle, reared its broken arches; and marked by grey and mouldering
walls, and mounds covered with slight vegetation, it was traced to its
connection with the castle itself, still frowning in gothic
magnificence; and stretching over several acres of ground: the citadel,
which was totally in ruins and covered with ivy, crowning the whole.
Farther to the West, beyond a bold and rocky shore, appeared the sea;
and to the East, a chain of mountains which seemed to meet the clouds;
while on the other side, a rich and beautiful vale, now variegated with
the mellowed tints of the declining year, spread its enclosures, 'till
it was lost again among the blue and barren hills.
Headly declaimed eloquently on the charms of the prospect, which
gradually unveiled itself as the autumnal mist disappeared. But
Emmeline, tho' ever alive to the beauties of nature, was too much
occupied by her own melancholy reflections to attend to the
animadversions of her companion.
_She_ saw nothing but the castle, of which she believed she was now
taking an eternal adieu; and her looks were fixed on it, 'till the road
winding down the hill on the other side, concealed it from her sight.
Headly imputed her sadness to a very different cause than that of an
early and long attachment to a particular spot. He supposed that regret
at being obliged to leave Delamere, to whose passion he could not
believe her insensible, occasioned the melancholy that overwhelmed her.
He spoke to her of him, and affected to lament the uneasiness which so
violent and ungovernable a temper in an only son, might occasion to his
family. He then talked of the two young ladies, his sisters, whom he
described as the finest young women in the country, and as highly
accomplished. Emmeline sighed at the comparison between _their_
situation and her own.
After some hours travelling through roads which made it very fatigueing,
they arrived at a little obscure house of entertainment, and after some
refreshment, continued their journey unmolested.
Delamere arose early, and calling for Millefleur, enquired at what hour
Miss Mowbray was to go. On hearing that she had left the castle more
than an hour, his rage and vexation broke through all the respect he
owed his father; who being acquainted by his valet of his resolution
immediately to follow the chaise, entered the room. He remonstrated with
him at first with great warmth; but Delamere, irritated by
contradiction, obstinately adhered to his resolution of immediately
pursuing the travellers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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