I Forbid the Banns! — page 224: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

CHAPTER XXXII. ON THE WAR PATH. HERE is sometimes a cessation of the downpour on a day in May in England. Bertha found this out before she and Julian had reached the Court. Before sitting down to lunch a gleam of sunshine came from a break in the clouds, and asthe girl stood at the window fora few minutes she saw the lovely stretch of lawn flash into ten thousand glorious emeralds. The trees of the park were laden with diamonds, and the birds were clamorous with delight at the recovery of the sun. Julian had ordered horses for four o’clock, Bertha hav- ing assured him that the walk of the forenoon had not in the least fatigued her. Sosoonas he saw her in the saddle he knew that there was no girl in Brackenshire who had such a seat on horseback. So far as his recollection served him, there was no girl in the country who looked nearly so well as she did ina riding habit. He felt exuberant as he put his horse toa trot on the soft road leading to the remains of a famous castle, men- tioned by Sir Walter Scott in one of his novels. Every stranger to the county was without delay conveyed to this place; and Julian thought that the sooner Bertha got it over the better prepared she would be to face all inquiries that might be put to her on the subject of the castle. Hav- ing lived in the colonies she had cherished her Scott as well as her Dickens and even her Bulwer-Lytton. She was able to keep Julian from making any very glaring mistakes in his attempts to rehabilitate the castle in its ancient splen- dor for her benefit. He soon found that it was he who was m 214 GEomicbooks. co