It was
plain that not nearly a tithe of this great house was inhabited; long
corridors and galleries stretched away in dust and silence, and were
crossed by others, whose dark arches inspired me in the distance with an
awful sort of sadness. It was plainly one of those great structures in
which you might easily lose yourself, and with a pleasing terror it
reminded me of that delightful old abbey in Mrs. Radcliffe's romance, among
whose silent staircases, dim passages, and long suites of lordly, but
forsaken chambers, begirt without by the sombre forest, the family of La
Mote secured a gloomy asylum.
My cousin Milly and I, however, were bent upon an open-air ramble, and
traversing several passages, she conducted me to a door which led us out
upon a terrace overgrown with weeds, and by a broad flight of steps we
descended to the level of the grounds beneath. Then on, over the short
grass, under the noble trees, we walked; Milly in high good-humour,
and talking away volubly, in her short garment, navvy boots, and a
weather-beaten hat. She carried a stick in her gloveless hand. Her
conversation was quite new to me, and resembled very much what I would have
fancied the holiday recollections of a schoolboy; and the language in which
it was sustained was sometimes so outlandish, that I was forced to laugh
outright--a demonstration which she plainly did not like.
Pages:
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351
352
353
354
355
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363