Reginald Dalton Author:John Gibson Lockhart 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: CHAPTER III. The third day was verging towards evening, as the old towers of Oxford rose once more on the heavy and languid eye of the Vicar of Lann- well. Mo... more »re than twenty years had elapsed since he saw them. Then, full as he was of youth and youthful hope, he did not leave them without regret—they were the same now, every outline was familiar, every tree was an acquaintance—but, alas ! how cold was the eye that retraced them, how weary was the heart to which their beauty had been dear! I believe no one ever approached the scene of his youthful recollections, in after life, and especially after a long absence, without many pensive enough reflections—certainly few have ever approached such a scene in a more melancholy mood than now was his. He was alone, as it happened, in the vehicle. Troops of gayyoung men on horseback were continually passing and repassing—here and there a solitary cap and gown appeared gliding along the meadows towards the town. Here, as elsewhere, life was holding on its accustomed course—the very bells were chiming the same tunes they used to do— every thing was the same; the stateliness of art, the calm of nature—all were as of old. But where were the familiar faces—where was the expectation of joyful meetings—where were all the long extinguished ardours of young hope, and young ambition, and young fancy ? He was a widower and a father—and his only son was a blood-stained prisoner, in the rudest and the darkest of all these towers. The coach happened to stop at the Mitre. Mr Dalton, however, did not stay there a moment; but, jaded and wearied as he was with travel, and want of sleep, and misery, proceeded directly towards the Castle. He was near the gate, when a black servant ran bare-headed across the street, and said, " My master—my master wants ...« less