Alfred Barton; The Absent Man (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: CHAPTER II. Etents in a Voyage?Mistake?a View?Serious Converse?Off Falmouth?Memoranda?A Letter determined on. To return to poor disappointed Alfred Barton on board the good ship " Victoria," whom we left tossed with overwhelming distractions, which, to his versatile imagination, presented, first, Emily, with her cold reserve; Sharwood, the hated rival; his own good old father, and the comforts of home; then, as to framing a letter to her, who might?for all he knew?exhibit it to a detested rival. He was relieved, for a time, from all these maddening thoughts, by the mate of the vessel bringing down his books and papers. " Sir, ain't these your things ? I'm blest, if I hadn't sprung 'pon 'em, but they'd all gone right up the Channel. You gents should really take more care of your stowage. All right again, I s'pose, now ? But, sir, we've no luggage of yours. I'm 'fraid you have forgot all that." "That I have, indeed; but never mind, I have more at home." Alfred instantly opening Catullus, and whipping out his pencil, began, as usual, to make extracts and notes. But all would not do. An exclamation broke from his agitated heart, " Oh ! what an ignis fatuus have I been pursuing! Thus it is we seek after everything but true happiness!?alone to be found in the revealed Word of Him, whose guidance and consolation are above all worldly pleasures and comforts." All this was said aloud, and on looking up?for he was in his berth?he saw the face of a man. 'Twas almost dark, and it was only by the faint glimmer of a lamp, that he perceived the eyes of the person fixed on him in a manner fearful. Alfred had no vain fears; and though romantic in the extreme, no such ideas flowed from his poetic mind; or with little influence over him, except in the amatory impression which had ...