I observe no word or
action which is not prompted by that fine feeling which is the
sure source of good taste. This Gerard appears to me a real
genuine man; full of knowledge worked out by his own head;
with large yet wholesome sympathies; and a deuced deal better
educated than Lord de Mowbray or my brother--and they do
occasionally turn over a book, which is not the habit of our
set.
"And his daughter--ay, his daughter! There is something
almost sublime about that young girl, yet strangely sweet
withal; a tone so lofty combined with such simplicity is very
rare. For there is no affectation of enthusiasm about her;
nothing exaggerated, nothing rhapsodical. Her dark eyes and
lustrous face, and the solemn sweetness of her thrilling
voice--they haunt me; they have haunted me from the first
moment I encountered her like a spirit amid the ruins of our
abbey. And I am one of 'the family of sacrilege.' If she
knew that! And I am one of the conquering class she
denounces. If also she knew that! Ah! there is much to know!
Above all--the future. Away! the tree of knowledge is the
tree of death. I will have no thought that is not as bright
and lovely as this morn."
He went forth from his little garden, and strolled along the
road in the direction of the cottage of Gerard, which was
about three quarters of a mile distant.
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