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322 THE PORTRAIT.
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
Additionally, when viewing full transcripts, extracted text may not be in the same order as the original document.
» Chapter Vii. A Seau.Ch Into Motives Is...
me " lie No was , " I going answered - to spend ; " but the if winter I remember in ; Italy ri . " ghtly , some one told
Mrs . Martyn was summoned away by her maid , wlio announced a visitor , and she left the note on my table . I picked it up , and
tried again to read it . This time I succeeded ; being alone , I was less nervous . It ran thus : —
" Dear _" Having Madam long , had a project of taking a trip to the NorthI
, am now resolved to put it into execution , and start for Scotland tomorrow . Somehow or other the atmosphere of London is
antagonistic to work , at least in my case , and I hope to spend my time more profitably when absent . Might I request you to take charge
of the picture I have now in the Exhibition , as I do not intend to part with it , and I know it cannot be in better hands than in those
of my kind friend and patron , your husband . Keep it , then , for me , until I reclaim itand accept the assurance of my esteem .
, "I am , & c . & c , " _Akthue _Cleveland . "
Another prevarication ! I indignantly exclaimed , tossing the letter on the floor . " Away to Scotlandwhile walking in Kensington
, Gardens ! Waiting , doubtless , until Mrs . Bethune is ready to go with him . She , I remember , often spoke of going to the North ,
and now they will admire the scenery together . " " What need for all this mystification ? Can he not marry the rich
widow and have done with it ? " I kept muttering between my teeth as I lied a brush to my . curls to smooth them , but from the
force app with which I used it , threatening rather to tear them out by the roots .
Now , in sober age , how strange in recalling those scenes appeared the wild excitement of a young passionate nature , and yet I would
not have avoided them even could I have had the option . By sufferingbpassionby the very variety of our changing emotions ,
do we , y in wisdom , . I never couldand I believe I never shall comprehend grow those calm imperturbable , beings whose lives are as ,
stagnant pools , ever the same in sunshine as in storm . I cannot admire those marble bits of humanity , in their stillness and
coldness , any more than I could admire the sea , were its surface ever shining as a polished mirror . I should long to see the little
laughing waves with their crowns of white spray , or the deep green heaving billowsin whose depths the mermaids hideand deck
themselves with , ocean flowersshellsand corals . I should , long to hear its silvery music as it ripp , les towards , the yellow sands , or its
thunder as it dashes against the tall grey rocks . And in like manner do I long to see varied life and feeling in my companions .
With a reckless air of bravery I entered the drawing-room with
Cleveland ' s letter , and handing it to Mr . Martyn , I said , with an
322 The Portrait.
322 THE PORTRAIT .
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Citation
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English Woman’s Journal (1858-1864), July 1, 1861, page 322, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ewj/issues/ewj_01071861/page/34/
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