Mount Sorel, Or, the Heiress of the de Veres Volume . 1 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1845 Excerpt: ...detested the idea of this new man, inhabiting the old house of his fathers; he would rather, perhaps, it had been swept away too. "And the ruins?" at last he said. "Aye, Sir, there be some old ruins under the Red Castle Hill.--Can't justly say, what he'll do with them. Most like he'll call them old rubbish--and sweep away, slip slap, dish dash, as he's done with the Entwistle litter. Can't say for certain, what he'll do with the ruins--can't say whether they be to be swept away or not." The ruins --Yes, they would in all probability be swept away too, before this new man--this active, vigorous stranger--who seemed to come forward as the type of that destructive torrent, which threatened to submerge all he had loved and reverenced. The times in which he lived--the mighty changes that hung threatening over society--the dark clouds big with unrevealed forces, gathering on all sides of the horizon--added strength to the personal melancholy of Mr. de Vere, and depth to his feelings. Resolved, as he had been, never to set foot upon, never even to turn his eyes towards, the lost estate of his ancestors; a sort of invincible desire impelled him, at this moment, to visit once more those relics; so soon, as he imagined, to be swept from the face of the earth. It was a dark, windy, cold evening; black clouds swept over the moon; and the heavy branches of the trees, swinging in the wind, threw their drear shadows across his path; as, silent as a ghost, and fearful of being seen as the prowling thief, this haughty and unhappy man traversed his own woods; and arrived at the brook, and at the bridge, that separated him from his neighbour. Shall we say his almost detested neighbour?--For, in Mr. de Vere's heart--a heart hardened by pride, and perverted ...