Search -
Cleve hall, by the author of 'Amy Herbert'.
Cleve hall by the author of 'Amy Herbert' Author:Elizabeth Missing Sewell 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: CHAP. III. " Eight o'clock! Where is Clement ? " The question was asked, in a querulous tone, by a lady seemingly infirm, rather from indolence and illness th... more »an from age, as, ordering the door to be shut, and wrapping a shawl around her, she drew near the tea-table, spread in a small, neat, but poorly-furnished drawing room. It was answered in a girlish voice, but the accent was scarcely more amiable. " Indeed, grandmamma, I can't say; he has been out ever since six." The speaker was a young girl of about sixteen, tall, graceful, and rather foreign looking, from the darkness of her complexion, and the dreamy, yet very intellectual expression of her splendid dark eyes, the only feature in the face which could lay claim to real beauty. She was stationed by the urn, and her attention was given more to the teacups than to the person who addressed her. " You might as well learn, Ella, to be civil when you are spoken to. Why can't you look at me ? " " I am pouring out the tea, grandmamma. Oh dear, what a slop! Louisa, do run into the pantry and bring me a cloth." " Louisa not gone to bed ! how is that ? Louisa, why don't you go to bed ? " " Because I am reading, grandmamma." " But you ought to be in bed; it's a great deal too late. Where's your aunt ? why does'nt she make you go to bed ? " "Aunt Bertha went down the village, and isn't come in," replied Louisa, without attempting to rise from the low stool on which she had placed herself to be out of the reach of observation, and able at her leisure to study a volume of fairy tales. " Very wrong, very forgetful," was murmured, and Mrs. Campbell sank back again in her chair without repeating the order for Louisa to go. Ella just glanced at her sister, and, forgetting the slop, handed a cup of tea to her grand...« less