It is the day--the very hour of Sir
William's birth!"
He smote his forehead, scarcely able to contain the violence of his
emotion.
"Let that day darken!--let it be cursed with storms and tempest!--let
the shadows of death brood over it, and the teeming night bring tenfold
horrors!--Yet how calm, how peacefully yonder sun approaches in his
strength! Nature is the same--bright, joyous, and unchanging!--Man, man
alone, is mutable--his days are full of mourning and bitterness!"
He bowed his head, crouching almost to the dust, in that overwhelming
agony.
Suddenly he was aroused, and in a manner as unceremonious as unexpected.
A smart blow on the back announced a somewhat uncourteous intruder,
whilst a loud and discordant laugh struck shrilly on his ear. Starting,
he beheld a figure of a low and unshapely stature, clothed in a light
dress, fantastically wrought. A round cap, slouched in front, fitted
closely to his head, from which depended what the wearer no doubt looked
upon as a goodly aggregate of ornaments. These consisted of ear-tassels
and rings of various dimensions, that jingled oddly as he twisted his
head from side to side with a knowing and important grin.
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