"Peace," was the whisper of nature to her troubled child; but
Ellen's heart was in a whirl; she could not hear the whisper.
It was a relief, however, to be out of the house and in the
sweet open air. Ellen breathed more freely, and pausing a
moment there, and clasping her hands together once more in
sorrow, she went down the road, and out at the gate, and
exchanging her quick, broken step for a slow, measured one,
she took the way towards Thirlwall. Little regarding the
loveliness which that day was upon every slope and roadside,
Ellen presently quitted the Thirlwall road, and, half
unconsciously, turned into a path on the left which she had
never taken before — perhaps for that reason. It was not much
travelled, evidently; the grass grew green on both sides, and
even in the middle of the way, though here and there the track
of wheels could be seen. Ellen did not care about where she
was going; she only found it pleasant to walk on, and get
further from home. The road or lane led towards a mountain
somewhat to the northward of Miss Fortune's; the same which
Mr. Van Brunt had once named to Ellen as "The Nose." After
three-quarters of an hour, the road began gently to ascend the
mountain, rising towards the north. About one-third of the way
from the bottom, Ellen came to a little footpath on the left,
which allured her by its promise of prettiness, and she
forsook the lane for it.
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