General Books publication date: 2009 Original publication date: 1889 Original Publisher: Skeffington Notes: This is a black and white OCR reprint of the original. It has no illustrations and there may be typos or missing text. When you buy the General Books edition of this book you get free trial access to Million-Books.com where you can select from more than a million books for free. Excerpt: 56 rijr g-lj. icr. rmi CHAPTER VIII. THE SHAGREEN CASE. On the river ! How, indeed, could a day in August be more delightfully spent than on a beautiful river ? And it would be difficult to find a lovelier strip of water than the Ouse at Garden. Gilbert took the sculls, Bennet steered. The water glistened and sparkled in the sunlight. The great white lilies expanded their matchless petals, the arrowhead upheld his conspicuous leaves, and his panicles of simple but inexpressibly lovely flesh-coloured flowers; whilst on the bank itself the butomus raised its wax-like umbels above the tallest rushes. The purple loose-strife waved his magnificent inflorescence of tapering crimson, and the meadow-sweet her luxuriance of creamy plumes. By-and-by the river began to widen, and they entered upon the very fine stretch of water, called from an adjacent village,
The Norton Broads. As they skimmed over this lake- like sheet Bennet broke silence with,
Do you know, Gilbert, I often think about that extraordinary man, the great Dr. Napier. What a very strange character he was ?
‘ Great, ’ did you say ? why ‘ great ? ’
Because it is customary to style him so, and because also of the remarkable cures he effected, and his extraordinary prophecies.
Prophecies, indeed ! and pretty prophecies they were. But go on.
If you’re going to be sarcastic, continued Bennet,
I shall change the subject.
Pray forgive me, he returned penitently.
But no wonder he was skilful, seeing that he was instructed both in astrology and physic by the celebrated Dr. Forman, who, by…
