Roanoke of Roanoke Hall: A Romance — page 51: what you’re looking at

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

Roanoke of Roanoke Hall. 45 That I know thee not I am not so well as- sured. There’s somewhat monstrous familiar about thy lines and hail. But enough par- ley. Ill show thee old Crackbrain’s port. Well for thee Iam passing that way myself, for ’tis an ill road to travel at best for those that know it, and after dark for a stranger in the land little better than certain death. What with marsh and mire, dike and quick- sand, ’tis as pretty a trap as ever clapped up & gauger.” We were already half-way down the hill be- fore he had finished this speech, which, judg- ing from his manner, was fully as much ad- dressed to himself as to me. For some time we rode on side-by-side in silence. He asked me no further questions about myself or my busi- ness, though I could see from the occasional gleam of his eye fixed askance upon me from the shadow of his brow that this reserve be- tokened no abatement of his curiosity. Pres- ently he broke into a song which I was des- tined to hear with dread more than once in the following years, and of which I even now dream at times, and wake trembling in a cold perspiration of terror. (@) comichbooks.com