The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties (Volume 5 of 5)Burney, Fanny
History
The Wanderer; or, Female Difficulties (Volume 5 of 5)
Burney, Fanny
France -- History -- Revolution, 1789-1799 -- Refugees -- Fiction; Historical fiction; Refugees -- Fiction; War stories
She then bent her steps towards the sea-side; but, though it was still
very early, there was so much company upon the sands, taking exercise
before, or after bathing, that she soon turned another way; and, invited
by the verdant freshness of the prospects, rambled on for a considerable
time: at first, with no other design than to while away a few hours;
but, afterwards, to give to those hours the pleasure ever new, ever
instructive, of viewing and studying the works of nature; which, on this
charming spot, now awfully noble, now elegantly simple; where the sea
and the land, the one sublime in its sameness, the other, exhilarating
in its variety, seem to be presented, as if in primeval lustre, to the
admiring eye of a meditative being.
She clambered up various rocks, nearly to their summit, to enjoy, in one
grand perspective, the stupendous expansion of the ocean, glittering
with the brilliant rays of a bright and cloudless sky: dazzled, she
descended to their base, to repose her sight upon the soft, yet lively
tint of the green turf, and the rich, yet mild hue of the downy moss.
Almost sinking, now, from the scorching beams of a nearly vertical sun,
she looked round for some umbrageous retreat; but, refreshed the next
moment, by salubrious sea-breezes, by the coolness of the rocks, or by
the shade of the trees, she remained stationary, and charmed; a devoutly
adoring spectatress of the lovely, yet magnificent scenery encircling
her; so vast in its glory, so impressive in its details, of wild, varied
nature, apparently in its original state.
When at length, she judged it to be right to return, upon coming within
sight of the lodging-house, she saw a carriage at the door, into which
some lady was mounting.
Could it be Lady Aurora?--could she so depart, after reading her letter?
She retreated till the carriage drove off; and then, at the foot of the
stairs, met the chambermaid; of whom she eagerly asked, whether there
were any letter, or message, for her, from Lady Aurora.
The maid answered No; her ladyship was gone away without saying any
thing.
The words 'gone away' extremely affected Juliet, who, in ascending to
her room, wept bitterly at such a desertion; even while concluding it to
have been exacted by Mrs Howel.
She rang the bell, to enquire whether she might now have a chaise.
The chambermaid told her that she must come that very moment to speak to
a lady.
'What lady?' cried Juliet, ever awake to hope; 'Is Lady Aurora Granville
come back?'
No, no; Lady Aurora was gone to Chudleigh.
'What lady then?'
Mrs Howel, the maid answered, who ordered her to come that instant.
''Tis a mistake,' said Juliet, with spirit; 'you must seek some other
person to whom to deliver such a message!'
The maid would have asserted her exactitude in executing her commission;
but Juliet, declining to hear her, insisted upon being left.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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