A Silver Brand — page 130: what you’re looking at

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

122 ) A SILVER BRAND. thought it dreary. It has been always charming to me.” “What, with those bare, bleak rocks, and the scanty vegetation, and the chilled, stunted look of everything?” he returned, possibly with as much desire to draw her out as to carry on his assertion. “To me who remember islands festooned with vines, and gorgeous with flowers, and embellished with graceful towers or picturesque ruins, yonder is a forlorn and wretched spot, and. I wonder how any one who has known any different scene can be content ! to remain.” | ‘““Who has known different !” repeated Serena, pensively. “That. is just the secret of. all the world’s happiness [I suspect. Grandmamma now will agree with you, but to the fishermen and the rest, and*even to me, there are many things charming and attractive.” “T wish I could show you an island over the ocean—a gem of peerless beauty, where all around is fair and charming!” he exclaimed, warmly. ‘“Beholding that would be enough to prove the dreariness of this.” “Over the ocean,’ returned Serena. “I wish, indeed, you might. I was born in the fairest land of all over there, so my grandmother declares. She owns that the Rhine is well worth the poet’s chanting, but she declares that the Danube flows through loveliest scenes of all.” “You, too, were born there!” exclaimed the. young gentleman. “No wonder you had alook to me that re- minded me of my childish visions of the Madonna. And can you be content to linger here ?” “Tremember nothing of it all—nothing at all,” she an- © swered, sorrowfully. “‘I was only a tiny babe when I - ° came away. But itis one of my keenest pleasures to read — and hear about it. Tell me about your isle. Give me the glorious picture, that I may frame it in memory’s endur- ing gold.” | : The words dropped languidly, but the tone was sweetly tender ; a clear, luminous smile lighted the deep blue eyes and played softly about the exquisite lips. She had re- - moved her hat, and the moonlight glistened upon the golden-brown hair, and made it very easy for the enthusi- -astic man at the oar to imagine it an aureole. Never had he seen a pictured saint more sweetly fair, abe before met eyes that seemed alike to calm and thrill He dropped the oars slowly and noiselessly into the transparent waves that broke into showers of pearl and diamond, and scarcely moving his eyes from the sweet, | comicbhooks.com