The Project Gutenberg EBook of Julia And Her Romeo: A Chronicle Of Castle
Barfield, by David Christie Murray

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Title: Julia And Her Romeo: A Chronicle Of Castle Barfield
From "Schwartz" by David Christie Murray

Author: David Christie Murray

Release Date: August 8, 2007 [EBook #22274]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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Produced by David Widger

JULIA AND HER ROMEO: A CHRONICLE OF CASTLE BARFIELD

By David Christie Murray

Author Of 'Aunt Rachel,' 'The Weaker Vessel,' Etc.

I

In the year eighteen hundred and twenty, and for many years before and
after, Abel Reddy farmed his own land at Perry Hall End, on the western
boundaries of Castle Barfield. He lived at Perry Hall, a ripe-coloured
old tenement of Elizabethan design, which crowned a gentle eminence
and looked out picturesquely on all sides from amongst its neighbouring
trees. It had a sturdier aspect in its age than it could have worn when
younger, for its strength had the sign-manual of time upon it, and even
its hoary lichens looked as much like a prophecy as a record.

A mile away, but also within the boundaries of Castle Barfield parish,
there stood another house upon another eminence: a house of older date
than Perry Hall, though of less pleasing and picturesque an air. The
long low building was of a darkish stone, and had been altered and added
to so often that it had at last arrived at a complex ugliness which was
not altogether displeasing. The materials for its structure had all been
drawn at different periods from the same stone quarry, and the chequered
look of new bits and old bits had a hint of the chess-board. Here Samson
Mountain dwelt on his own land in the midst of his own people.

The Mountain Farm, as it was called, and had been called time out of
mind, was separated from the Perry Hall Farm by a very shallow and
narrow brook. The two houses were built as far apart from each other
as they could be, whilst remaining in their own boundaries, as if the
builder of the later one had determined to set as great a distance as
he could between his neighbour and himself. And as