Flower O' the Orange Author:Agnes Castle 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: vn THE MIRROR OF THE FAITHFUL HEART Hail, rain, or snow, Sir Peter Coverdale waited upon Lady Barbara Ogle precisely at four o'clock of the afternoon every... more » weekday, partook of a dish of tea, and joined her in a game of tric-trac. On the stroke of half-past five the grey mare was led round under the portico and Sir Peter jogged gently back to his solitary home. Each Sunday he made his appearance at Ogle Hall an hour earlier; but the grey mare had her Sabbath rest, and a more ancient quadruped his weekly outing to convey Sir Peter to the repast which Lady Barbara dispensed with stately amiability to himself, the parson and his lady. Every quarter-day he went over in state to pay her the rent of certain woods, hired for his coverts (for tradition's sake merely; Sir Peter, over and above all things scholar and dilettante, cared little for shooting and less for the chase), attired as became the seasons, and bringing the offering of an appropriate posy. Sir Peter would then propose marriage to LadyBarbara, who had been for ten years the object of his declared affections, for ten previous that of his secret ardours. Every quarter-day Lady Barbara was overcome by surprise, shed a few tears, scolded a little, smiled a little, gave him a determined refusal and her hand to kiss. " When last I died (and, dear, I die As often as from thee I go), I can remember yet that I Something did say, and something did bestow." The singing words of old Donne might have been penned to fit the case. They parted better friends than ever, but if the gentleman rode home at a slow pace, his fine old head sunk sadly on his breast, it might be observed that the lady, on the other hand, went about the house all the evening even more briskly than ever; that she sniffed complacently at a posy ...« less