Propria Quae Maribus Author:Charles Reade 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 V. Several months after this event, a young gentleman was seated in a study, book in hand, but by no effort could he give his mind to the book: he sig... more »hed; turned the leaves and gave it up in despair—this was Reginald Seymour, whose offended dignity and delicacy had borne him stiffly up for five months, but could support him no longer. He had now had leisure to remember the many high qualities of her whose one fault he had thought unpardonable. He had flung away a jewel for a single flaw: jewels are rare—he began to think he had been a fool, and to know he was wretched. What was to be done ? he had been silent so long that now he was ashamed to write, and when he had with a great struggle determined to make the first overtures, a letter from his sister had given him a mysterious hint that itwould now be too late to attempt an accommodation. Reginald was not one of those who babble their griefs, and cure themselves in ten days by tormenting all their friends. He was silent, distracted, reserved. His own family who guessed the cause of his low spirits, respected him too much to approach the subject, or to let strangers into the secret. They permitted him to be miserable in peace. He thanked them in his heart, and availed himself to the full of their kind permission. He took possession of a room whose windows looked on Courtenay Court, and in that room, in the company of the immortal dead—il s'ennu- gait. One of these painful reveries was interrupted by a visitor, an old gentleman in black gaiters and a white head : it was the Reverend James Tremaine, Perpetual Curate of Conyton. An old and true friend of both houses, and Reginald's tuitor for many years, Mr. Tremaine had not seen his depression without interest. He was acquainted with the cause. ...« less