His hood was fallen off, and gave to view his face,
in which the deepest lines of sorrow were combined with the gloom of
sullen superstition. All intercourse was forbidden by that law which
chained his tongue to eternal silence, except when employed as the organ
of devotion. Eustace wept with true commiseration; the unhappy monk
threw on him a look, which showed he too well remembered England, drew
his cowl over his face, and with a groan of the deepest melancholy
solemnly returned to his cell.
Dr. Beaumont's remarks on this narrative were pious and affecting; but
there was a heavy gloom in the eye of Neville, which indicated a mind
too much absorbed by its own feelings to enjoy the badinage of happy
lovers, or to listen to the suggestions of wisdom and devotion. "Is our
dear father ill?" was the alarmed inquiry of Isabel. "Has the surprise
of my return overpowered him?" said Eustace. "Will not affliction allow
her victim a few years respite, before the effects of her early
visitations conduct him to the grave?"
It was the privilege of that true minister of Heaven who tranquillized
his youthful impatience, to penetrate into the secret feelings of the
man of sorrows.
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