. The master of Marton . anctity of the life in themidst of which he stood. He had lived on hitherto in a broken, frag-mentary fashion. There had been no steadyonward course, no resolute trampling over pas-sion, no thread of even purpose running throughhis life, linking the years, like precious pearls_,together. He had been struggling along atangled path, the heavens black with clouds, theearth rough with briers; and now, as it seemedto hira, he had come to the edge of the wilder- THE MASTER OF MARTON. 149 ness, and saw a plain path opening out beforehim. He looked around. He was alone. There
. The master of Marton . anctity of the life in themidst of which he stood. He had lived on hitherto in a broken, frag-mentary fashion. There had been no steadyonward course, no resolute trampling over pas-sion, no thread of even purpose running throughhis life, linking the years, like precious pearls_,together. He had been struggling along atangled path, the heavens black with clouds, theearth rough with briers; and now, as it seemedto hira, he had come to the edge of the wilder- THE MASTER OF MARTON. 149 ness, and saw a plain path opening out beforehim. He looked around. He was alone. There wasthe battered hassock lying in the sun; the oldknight locked in his stony sleep ; the rainbow-tinted light still streaming over the a strange sense of upspringing life, asthough he were going forward to meet somecoming joy, he passed again through the iron-bossed door, and locking it behind him, stoodonce more in the sunlit, green churchyard. Mm .•-.•-.•-.•-.•-.•^.-^. CHAPTER IX. IN HE second bell had just ceasedchiming, when Leonard followed,through the low-arched doorwayof the church, the little knot ofvillagers who had been lingering outside theporch, unwilling to put an end to their morninggossip sooner than was absolutely necessary. Michael Bray, the old sexton, had been watch-ing for his appearance, in a flutter of excitementat the thought of once more escorting to the Hallpew one of its rightful occupants. In his youngerdays, the crowning moment of MichaePs Sundayglory had been that, when staff in hand, he hadmarched up the aisle, followed by the family from THE MASTER OF MARTON. 151 the Hallj and then opening with a flourish thedoor of their pew, had stood erect and proud,while one by one, the ^ quality filed in. Martonchurch had never seemed to Michael rightly filledsince that great pew had been vacant. To him,with that remnant of feudal feeling which stilllingers among the inhabitants of many ruraldistricts, it seemed like a hou
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, bookpublisherlondo, bookyear1864
