Riversdale Court

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 III. THE ORIEL DRAWING-ROOM. The evening of that day I sat as usual in my favourite place within a sort of alcove, if it may so be called?a recess; it was formed by the oriel window in one of a suite of sitting-rooms in Riversdale Court. A portion of the spacious window was wide open; for although the heat was abating as the shades of evening crept stealthily into wood and valley, and spread a thin veil of cool blue mist over the summits and slopes of the hills, the atmosphere continued very warm and sultry. Chimes of the distant village bells, mingling with the song of birds, the fall of water, and other soft rural sounds, floated on the slow- moving air laden with perfume from myriads offlowers, and within and without all seemed peace and beauty and restful enjoyment. A very favourite apartment of grandmamma's and mine was this dear old drawing- room, for in addition to the large oriel window there was another facing the south, equally broad and high, and of like antique construction; thus in the coolest or hottest weather we could generally regulate the temperature by excluding or admitting the sunshine. The view from both windows was charming, but especially the oriel, which looked down on a sweep of rich lawn, shrubbery, and trees, and terminated afar off in a wide sparkling lake, whose waters, partially concealed by intervening branches, glittered brightly and beautifully through the feathery foliage. This latter picturesque adornment, the lake, was of recent introduction, that is to say about two or three years before my coming to the Court. Prior to that period the mansion was encircled by a dee)i moat, whose waters were supplied by a stream which flowed in on one side and out at another. To this moat my grandfather, then Hving, but in extremely del...