A Daughter of Maryland — page 139: what you’re looking at

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

118. A DAUGHTER OF MARYLAND. childish. But how is your patient down at the house?’’ he asked, to change the drift of the conversation. ‘“‘He is getting along finely, father, only he thinks too much of war. Only yesterday he asked me to read to him everything which had been done at Annapolis. Even in his sleep he talks of leading armies, and wakes in a high fever over the excitement of an imaginary battle. ’’ é ‘‘He has all the soldierly pride of a Lancier. I verily believe he will outstrip Robert in that direction, as he did in his studies. ’’ ‘‘Do you really believe there is going to be a war, father ?’’ ‘*Tut—tut, child! such grave matters should not bother your innocent head. There, I have some correspondence to look after, so you will have to excuse me until dinner.’’ Aurian was made extremely light-hearted during the following week by the cheerfulness of her father, who seemed suddenly to have thrown off the great burden which had been weighing on his mind. He was at home more than common, so that between enjoying his company and that of caring for her ‘‘patient’’ she found opportunity to take Maze from the stable but once. This was one Wednesday afternoon, when she took a canter as far as — Lash bridge, and upon returning she ran down to pay Esten Berners a short call. This ‘‘call’’ really extended into a visit, for she found him uncommonly cheerful, there being no hint of the dark subject of war lying so near to the surface of his mind. She was really surprised to find that the mellow light of a full moon rising over the corru- gated brow of South Mountain had succeeded the warmer glow of the sun when she started for home. But it was one of those rare evenings of the month of golden harvests. when the bright sky holds back the dark drapery of night as if the lingering glory of the dying day had suffused its azure brow for all time. Silhouetted against the silvery moonbeams the rugged old beeches formed fantastic figures, comicbooks (alo) + =