A Struggle for a Ring — page 96: what you’re looking at

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

ty eee _ THE PARTING. who, after destroying it as« religious house, beautified it, and soon after it came into the possession of the Wal- droves. ‘The great beauty of the place was the enormous quantity of roses that grew there. Through the lanes and the meadows the hedges were covered with wild roses; the walls of the abbey were covered by them; they climbed the windows, the towers, the turrets, beautiful roses of every shade; in the gardens they abounded ; there were white roses and red, the lovely gloire de dijon, maiden’s blush, musk roses, damask roses, and moss roses; the air for miles around seemed to be perfumed by roses. The abbey was a grand building, gothic in style, with gloriously arched windows, with tall towers and fine gate- ways. The rooms were all lofty, large, and light. They were furnished with the utmost magnificence, the Earl of Waldrove being one of the wealthiest peers in England. The grounds around the abbey were magnificent; the park, the pleasure-grounds, the terraces leading from the abbey to the. smooth lawn below, terracés’°on which the loveliest flowers bloomed, while stately cedars shaded the lawn. The deep, clear waters of the lake shone between the trees; antlered deer browsed under the tall trees, There were long ranges of conservatories, ferneries, hot- houses—all kinds of ornamental grounds, beautifully laid out. The trees that surrounded Roseneath Abbey were a fortune in themselves; their age was not rightly known, but they were the finest oaks and elms in England. Some of the oak trees were large enough and hollow enough to form small rooms. There, to this day, they show:a superb, massive oak, in which they declare King Charles slept more than once. The family matched the mansion; they were among the oldest and most conservative in the land. The present Cc @) comicbooks