A Silver Brand — page 34: what you’re looking at

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

26 3 A SILVER BRAND. the unobstructed waves from an ocean-wide travel came thundering and shattering in white lines of surf. None of that luxuriant verdure nor the vel- vety turf that Aubrey Dalberg had admired so much at Schwarzenberg. There’ were either sharp, pre- cipitous ledges of slate, or broad, white lines of sand at the base. A few stunted plants with a chilly-looking blue blossom crept into the interstices of the higher rocks wherever a bit of warm earth had lodged, but the whole aspect was bleak and bare, only enticing upon a garish July or August day, when the salt air and the cool sea breeze are more welcome than the deepest woodland shade or. the fairest bower of blossoming. However, the island had its habitations. six ef them, strung along the rough, tortuous road that led along the one smooth strip of beach, and wound up the hill to the single, pretentious building—the latter, indeed, only in the matter of comparison. For the other buildings were such humble, indifferent affairs that an ordinarily comfortable mansion looked quite orand beside them. 2 Four of these latter were fishermen’s cabins; one belonged to a queer fellow, a singular compound of surliness and good humor, called by some Nat, the hermit, and by others, Mr. Nathaniel, the taxider- mist, by which two characters he was solely known on the island and upon the neighboring shore. Nat lived entirely alone and performed the various duties of housekeeper apparently to his own satis- faction, for no one else was ever called in to his assistance. That the man was neat-fingered and dextrous people had ample proof who obtained a peep into his cabinet, where a miniature grove sup- ported the life-like forms of many of the beautiful winged creatures which came with the summer visitors, but which, if they were rare specimens, seldom escaped Nat’s unerring rifle or obtained — - opportunity to depart. : Nat’s home was supposed to be upon the island, but there were weeks and weeks when his cheery cabin windows had its green paper curtain down, and when his door was locked against every visitor, cS EComicboo co