Three Tales; Christine Van Amberg, Resignation, and the Village Doctor (Paperback)

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: "And now, to dinner," added Mr. Van Amberg, walking towards the dining room. He entered first?Annunciata tried to follow him ?her strength failed her, and she sank into an armchair which stood near her. Mr. Van Amberg seated himself alone at table. "A prisoner!" exclaimed Christine, "separated from the rest of the family! shut up! Oh ! the meadow was too wide for me, the house too large; I must have a narrower prison, with more visible walls. A prisoner! they have taken from me the little air that I was accustomed to breathe, the little liberty that I found means to enjoy." She opened the window to its full extent, leaned upon the balustrade, and gazed at the sky. It was very dark; night had completely set in; heavy clouds concealed all the stars; no light descended from above upon the earth; different shades of obscurity alone marked out the outlines of surrounding objects so familiar to Christine. The willows, so beautiful when sunshine and Herbert were there, no longer appeared to the sight but as a black and motionless mass; a profound silence reigned everywhere; to hope for happiness was impossible in the view of nature thus deprived of life and light. Christine had a fever; she felt overwhelmed by athousand different influences, by the indifference of friends, by the will of a tyrant, even by the night which was cold and melancholy like all that surrounded her. The young girl's heart throbbed violently and rebelliously. She wished to brave her imprisonment?she walked and struck herself against the wall. She wished to brave the darkness?she wished to see, and her eyes became fatigued by being concentrated upon invisible things. She wished to brave indifference?she loved?loved ardently in presence of these cold hearts, and proclaimed her love with pride and happin...