Harry and Lucy Author:Maria Edgeworth Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: and were contented to join, as his soldier's slaves, the army of their conqueror." As Sir Rupert concluded, Harry groaned. "Was this," said he, " the end of t... more »heir glorious ' You may drive us to the gates of the world, but we will never submit V" " Even so, Harry; so little dependance can there be on mere animal ignorant courage, that braves the danger of which it does not know the nature or extent." The glass doors at one end of the library, leading into the conservatory, were half open; and now that Harry's attention was no longer engaged, he observed a gale of fragrance, like the smell of fresh hay, or of that grass which gives to fresh hay its pleasant odour (anthoxan- thum odoratum). A second waft, however, decided that it was from Lady Digby's favourite plant, the heliotrope, innumerable pots of which the skilful old gardener contrived to force into premature flower and perfume, so as to have a constant succession for her ladyship's conservatory. He heard Lucy's voice too; and though he was not, as he used to say of himself, a great greenhouse merchant, he now went in there, and found Lady Digby showing some plants, which had been lately sent to her from North Carolina by a kind American lady. There was one which is rather uncommon in these countries, as it is so delicate that, without care, it seldom survives a winter in our climates. It is something of the nature of the sensitive plant; the inside of the leaf is thickly set with bristly hairs, like thorns, or like many little sharp teeth. As soon as Lucy saw this plant, she took up a straw, and drew it along the division or middle rib of one of its leaves, and immediately the two sides of the leaf folded up, and the prickly teeth closed together, so as to hold fast the straw. " I see it is the plant I thought of...« less