The Soldier's Wife — page 210: what you’re looking at

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

THE SOLDIER'S WIFE. 188 again. Not that any actual srowal of love had|own in respect to Mr. Herbert. But there was ever passed between them — much less any|{Gne Inmate of the Hall of whom Adela made a pledge or promise given: but still Adela knew confidante ; and this was Mrs. Browning, the old that at the time he was staying at Clive Hall,| housekeeper, who had been for many long years she was not an object of indifference to him—jin the family—who had witnessed Adela’s birth and her heart told her that he had not failed to} —and who loved the young lady with quite a penetrate her own feelings. Then, wherefore| maternal affection, To her therefore had Adela did he not come? had he forgotten her ? had | breathed the tale of her love—or rather she had the impression worn away? did he now love| confessed it when questioned: and the kind- another? These were the questions which poor}hearted Mrs. Browning did her best to banish Adela was constantly asking herself in secret:| the young lady’s fears and to encourage her but she was too generous-hearted, and had too| hopes. Therefore, when Adela was not rambling good an opinion of the worid, to suppose that in the grounds—or when her presence was not the affection entertained by a young man of | required by the Countess—she would repair to such noble disposition and lofiy feelings as|the housekeepers room; and taking her work Reginald Herbert possessed, could be either with her, would sit and talk to the old dame on vacillating or transitory. the one engrossing topic—that topic so dear to The countess of Burton was constanily looking | ber heart! amonyst the “ Fashionable Intelligence” of the} We must now observe that the incident we Morning Post, to which she was an inveterately | are about to relate, occurred on that very self- reguiar sub-criber, in order to ascertain some-|same Friday which had witnessed the parting thing of the movements of the Stansfield family ;| scene of agony between Frederick Lonsdale and and she had likewise written to her son the Earl) his wife in the dungeon-cell at the Middleton of Burton in London, to inform her from time to} barracks. It was about noon on that day—and time of anything he might hear on that subject.| the weather being unfavorable for walking, Lady But she at first gleaned little from either source :| Adela Clive took her work-basket, and repaired the knowledge thus obtained was limited to|to Mrs, Browning’s room, She was dressed in these few details—that Mr. Herbert had resigned| a plain morning gown, which came high up in his Government situation—that he had taken|the neck—indeed to the very throat; but the up his abode altogether with his uncle and aunt} fashion of which set off the beautiful symmetry —that by his kind and affectionate behaviour of ber form to the best advantage. He hair was towards them he had consoled them for the loss| arranged in bands—that hair whose raven black- of their sou—and that they lived in a somewhat ness gave additional brilliancy to the transpa- secluded manner at the fine cold ancestral seat} rent fairness of her com plexiun She never had in one of the southern counties. But at length) much color upon her cheeks: the little they had there were other pieces of intelligence which} once possessed, had disappeared—and she was the Countess of Burton learnt : namely, that Mr.; pale. In her eyes of deepest biue there was a Reginald Herbert was not married—that it was| melancholy expression ; and the pensiveness belicve ’ he was not even payi.Z his addresses) into which she was wont to fall, gave a most to any young lady—that disliking society, he | touching interest to the whole of that beauteous was addicted to solitary rambles—and that he} countenance. was supposed to be afflicted with some secret} Seating herself in a chair near the old house- melancholy. The Conntess felt assured that he} keeper, Adela made but a few casual remarks, still cherished an affection for her daughter ;|relative to the dismal aspect of the weather; and therefore, as time passed on and he neither) and then she pursued her needlework in silence, came nor wrote, she marvelled more aud more} Mrs. Browning noticed that her beloved young at his absence aud his silence. She had ajlady was even sadder than she had recently great mind to adopt some measure to revive her | been; and it pained her to observe this deepen- SO rv 0Ov0W0WWma oor ee ee —_—0_€_€ 000 NL acquaintance with the Stansfields: but a cvolness|ing despondency. She was about to bid her: had naturaily arisen from the circumstance of |cheer up: but she felt—for the first time—that her so suddenly declining to bestow her daughter|it almost amounted to a cruel mockery to ene upon the Hon, Mr. Ferdinand; and she there-|courage hopes where none appeared to exist; or fore felt that it would be indelicate to makejat least where, judging by all eircumstanees, the first overture towards a renewal of friend-/such hopes ought to be abandoned. So she said Blip. nothing—but sat watching with a mournful Thus had the interval passed away since the} look the pensive countenance of the beautiful Visit paid by the Countess and Lady Adela to} Adela. the Redburns at the Manor House; and while} Pre-ently Mrs. Browning recollected that she the mother was racking her brain for some}had forgotten to give some instructions to the expedient to let Reginald know that he might} domestics below ; and she quitted the room for have her daughter for the asking, the daughter) the purpose, Adela suffered her work to droop herself was becoming more and more desponding,| upou her lap; and leaving back im the chair, She, too, was fond of solitary rambles: and} with her head bent forward, she fell into a deep during the bright days of summer—or on the} and mournful reverie. She bad not failed to frosty ones of winter — might she have been! observe that on this occasion—and for the first seen walking by herself for hours together in| time—the housekeeper had volunteered not a the spacious grounds attached to Clive Haull.| syllable to cheer her; and she could not help She did not tell her mother what was preying! regarding the circumstance as omtnous of the upon her n.ind; nor did the mother breathe a death of all hope. Ought she, then to think syllable to Adela of what wae passing in her’ anything more of Reginald Herbert? or ought (C(O)