Chippinge (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 IV TANTIVY 1 TANTIVY ! TANTIVY ! The White Lion coach was a light coach carrying only five passengers outside, and merrily it swept by Kensington Church, whence the travellers had a peep of Holland House?home of the Whigs?on their right. And then in a twinkling they were swinging through Hammersmith, where the ale-houses were opening and lusty girls were beginning to deliver the milk. They passed through Turnham, through Brentford, awakening everywhere the lazy with the music of their horn. They saw Sion House on their left, and on their right had a glimpse of the distant lawns of Osterley?the seat of Lady Jersey, queen of Almack's, and the Holland's rival. Thence they travelled over Hounslow Heath, and by an endless succession of mansions and lawns and orchards, rich at this season with apple blossom, and framing here and there a view of the sparkling Thames. Vaughan breathed the air of spring, and let his eyes dwell on scene after scene; and he felt that it was good to be young and to sit behind fast horses. He stole a glance at his neighbour, and judged by the brightness of her eyes, her parted lips and rapt expression, that she felt with him. And he would have said something to her, but he could think of nothing worthy of her. At last: " It's a beautiful morning," he ventured, and cursed his vapidity. But she did not seem to find bathos in the words. " Beautiful !" she answered, with an enthusiasm which showed that she had forgotten her doubts of him. " And I," she added simply, " have not been on a coach since I was a child! " " Not on a coach ? " he cried in amazement. "No. Except on the Clapham Stage. And that is not a coach like this." " No, perhaps it is not," he said. And he thought of her, and?oh, Lord !?of Clapham ! And yet after all th...