From every part of the
rooms they saw the grey storms gather on the sea-horizon, and put
themselves in marching array; and soon the march became a sweep,
and the great dome of the heavens was covered with the lurid
clouds, between which and the vivid green earth below there
seemed to come a purple atmosphere, making the very threatening
beautiful; and by-and-by the house was wrapped in sheets of rain,
shutting out sky, and sea, and inland view; till, of a sudden,
the storm was gone by, and the heavy rain-drops, glistened in the
sun as they hung on leaf and grass, and the "little birds sang
east, and the little birds sang west," and there was a pleasant
sound of running waters all abroad.
"Oh! if papa would but buy this house!" exclaimed Elizabeth,
after one such storm, which she had watched silently from the
very beginning of the "little cloud no bigger than a man's hand."
"Mamma would never like it, I am afraid," said Mary. "She would
call our delicious gushes of air draughts, and think we should
catch cold."
"Jemima would be on our side. But how long Mrs. Denbigh is! I
hope she was near enough to the post-office when the rain came
on!"
Ruth had gone to "the shop" in the little village, about
half-a-mile distant, where all letters were left till fetched.
She only expected one, but that one was to tell her of Leonard.
She, however, received two; the unexpected one was from Mr.
Pages:
327
328
329
330
331
332
333
334
335
336
337
338
339
340
341
342
343
344
345
346
347
348
349
350
351