But no--he must not say that. He had no
thoughts of matrimony--at least, just now. A remote prospect did
indeed float before his eyes, in which he saw himself having outlived
this war, and attained the rank of Major-General, returning home to
find Lady Mabel still lovely and still free to listen to a lover's
suit. This was but a bright vista of the future, hemmed in and
overhung by many a dark contingency, a glowing picture in an ebony
frame.
The character of the country underwent a change as they rode on.
Sloping downward toward the Guadiana, over a succession of hills which
concealed the descent, the soil became more fertile, but was scarcely
more cultivated than in the region which they had just left behind
them. The heaths and broom plants now gave place to a variety of
evergreen shrubs. Though the forest trees had vanished centuries ago,
the prospect was often shut out by the thickets that overspread the
country. An occasional spot of open ground indicated some attempts at
cultivation, but they saw few peasants, and but one village seated on
a hill, until passing a wretched hamlet, they reach the bank of a
brook. The shade of some trees, already in full leaf, in this
sheltered spot, tempted them to make here their noonday halt.
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