Book-bot.com - read famous books online for free

The World's Greatest Books — Volume 07 — Fiction by Various
page 24 of 402 (05%)
Celestina O'Carroll, a blooming and accomplished young lady, who
exhibited in her own character all the diversities of an April sky. Her
hair was light brown, her eyes hazel, her features regular, and her
person surpassingly graceful. She had some coquetry, and more caprice,
liking and disliking almost in the same moment, and had not been three
days in the abbey before she threw out all the lures of her beauty and
accomplishments to make a prize of her cousin Scythrop's heart.

Scythrop's romantic dreams had given him many pure anticipated
cognitions of combinations of beauty and intelligence, which, he had
some misgivings, were not realised by Marionetta, but he soon became
distractedly in love, which, when the lady perceived, she altered her
tactics and assumed coldness and reserve. Scythrop was confounded, but,
instead of falling at her feet begging explanation, he retreated to his
tower, seated himself in the president's chair of his imaginary
tribunal, summoned Marionetta with terrible formalities, frightened her
out of her wits, disclosed himself, and clasped the beautiful penitent
to his bosom.

While he was acting this reverie, his study door opened, and the real
Marionetta appeared.

"For heaven's sake, Scythrop," said she, "what is the matter?"

"For heaven's sake, indeed!" said Scythrop, "for your sake, Marionetta,
and you are my heaven! Distraction is the matter. I adore you, and your
cruelty drives me mad!" He threw himself at her feet, and breathed a
thousand vows in the most passionate language of romance.

With a very arch look, she said: "I prithee, deliver thyself like a man
DigitalOcean Referral Badge