The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of
Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols, by William Black

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Title: The Beautiful Wretch; The Pupil of Aurelius; and The Four Macnicols

Author: William Black

Release Date: December 31, 2007 [EBook #24094]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BEAUTIFUL WRETCH ET AL. ***

Produced by Al Haines

THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH

BY

WILLIAM BLACK

AUTHOR OF 'MACLEOD OF DARE,' 'SUNRISE,' ETC.

NEW EDITION

LONDON

MACMILLAN AND CO.

1882

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I. Singing Sal
II. In Brunswick Terrace
III. A First Ball
IV. The Same
V. The Same
VI. First Impressions
VII. Auf Der Reise
VIII. Snow and Mist and Sunlight
IX. The Serenata
X. Jinny
XI. Transformation
XII. New Possibilities
XIII. Ormuzd and Ahriman
XIV. At Home
XV. A Message
XVI. Reveries
XVII. The Accepted Suitor
XVIII. A White World
XIX. Breaking Down
XX. The Shadow
XXI. Danger Ahead
XXII. A Catastrophe
XXIII. At Last
XXIV. 'Bring Home the Bride so Fair!'

THE BEAUTIFUL WRETCH.

CHAPTER I.

SINGING SAL.

On a certain golden afternoon in August, when the sea was as still and
radiant as the vaulted blue overhead, and when the earth was lying so
hushed and silent that you would have thought it was listening for the
chirp of the small birds among the gorse, a young girl of about
seventeen or so was walking over the downs that undulate, wave on wave,
from Newhaven all along the coast to Brighton. This young lady was
tall for her age; slim of form; and she had a graceful carriage; her
face was fair and markedly freckled; her nose was piquant rather than
classical; her hair, which was of a ruddy gold hue, was rebellious, and
strayed about her ears and neck in accidental wisps and rings: her
grayish or gray-blue eyes were reserved and thoughtful rather than
shrewd and observant. No, she was not beautiful; but she had a face
that attracted interest; and though her look was timid and retiring,
nevertheless her eyes could, on occasion, light up with a su