Bond and free Author:Bond Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: 21 CHAPTER II. " The soul is lapped in a false peace serene ; Fate, with the stern face of an angry friend, Heading a band of troubles, steps between." ... more » On a perfectly fair summer evening, having perfect promise of a perfect morrow, Eleanour and Wilfred were together— on the hill behind the cottage where Wilfred had so long lodged. At the little church of Thorndon they were to be married in three days. Eleanour sat on the trunk of a felled tree, leaning back against a spreading oak, and Wilfred lay at her feet. Hehad been thinking and speaking of his past life—always a lonely, often a miserable life ; whether miserable or not, always an unanchored, unsatisfied, unsatisfactory life. He had been speaking also of the persistent Fate which had brought his life and Eleanour's together—of their meeting on the wild Welsh shore, on the Ehine boat, and on the white road near the quiet little English village; and as he thought and spoke, he gazed upon his beautiful betrothed, and felt only gratitude for her love, tender affection for herself, and an earnest determination to do what in him lay to make her happy. Eleanour was beautiful to-night, content dwelt on her mouth, happiness shone from her eyes, and her brow was calm and serene: the hand and arm resting on Wilfred's shoulder were a marvel of blue- veined, creamy whiteness, of satin smoothsoftness ; his lips were often pressed upon that hand and arm. By-and-by Wilfred took out his note- hook, the same in which he had often written at Heidelberg ; he scribbled down some verses—read them to Eleanour— and, as he listened to her fond praise, let the book fall by his side, without heeding that it did so. " I wish I had my colour-box and sketch-book, that I, too, might make a tiny sketch by which to recall this happy evenin...« less