"'Well, is he coming?' cried Catherine, when her cousin returned.
"'Nay,' he answered, 'but he's not angry; he seemed rare and pleased indeed; only, I made him impatient by speaking to him twice; and then he bid me be off to you; he wondered how I could want the company of any body else.'
"I set his plate, to keep warm, on the fender: and after an hour or two, he re-entered, when the room was clear, in no degree calmer—the same unnatural—it was unnatural—appearance of joy under his black brows; the same bloodless hue: and his teeth visible, now and then, in a kind of smile; his frame shivering, not as one shivers with chill or weakness, but as a tight-stretched cord vibrates—a strong thrilling, rather than trembling.
"I will ask what is the matter, I thought, or who should? And I exclaimed—
"'Have you heard any good news, Mr. Heathcliff? You look uncommonly animated.'
