Page:Lady Anne Granard 2.pdf/204

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202
LADY ANNE GRANARD.

theirs, after taking a slight refreshment, hastily dressed in what his portmanteau happened to contain, neither affecting singularity, nor shrinking from it, being in fact much too happy to give attention to dress, although perfectly aware that his person could do without its aids, or with them.

England! dear England! the land of his dreams and wishes, was attained—the object which his situation rendered necessary, which his beloved daughter had urged him to secure, and which his religious principles rendered as requisite to his happiness as his safety. But what a crowd of memories and feelings were awakened by the first view of her shores, the first sounds of her language, the first specimens of her bustling, active spirit, in contrast to the inertness by which poverty in warm countries is usually characterized, and the air of perfect repair and cleanliness by which the mere homeliness of decent architecture is raised to a level with splendid and stately buildings, decorated with crumbling ornaments, dilapidated in some parts, and unfinished in others! The cheerfulness and bustle of Brighton at the present moment stood him in stead of all the beauty and grandeur, even the deathless and unparalleled associations, he had left behind; he felt that, in the attainment of freedom and comfort, all other things were included.

When, in early life, he was driven by impelling circumstances to a country he considered barbarous,