Crime & punishment > Peveril of the Peak > Volume 2

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PEVERIL OP THE PEAK.
father’s house, which uplift themselves as proud¬
ly on the bi'ow of the hill, as their owners raised
themselves above the sons of their people. Think
upon your father, a captive—yourself, in some
sort, a fugitive—-your light quenched — your glory
abased — your estate wrecked and impoverished.
Think that Providence has subjected the desti¬
nies of the race of Peveril to one, whom, in their
aristocratic pride, they held as a plebeian upstart.
Think of this ; and when you again boast of your
ancestry, remember, that he who raiseth the low¬
ly can also abase the high in heart.”
Julian did indeed gaze for an instant, with a
swelling heart, upon the dimly-seen turrets of his
paternal mansion, on wdiich poured the moon¬
light, mixed with Jong shadows of the towers and
trees. But while he sadly acknowledged the truth
of Bridgenorth’s observation, he felt indignant at
his ill-timed triumph. “If fortune had followed
worth,” he said, “the Castle of Martindale, and
the name of Peveril, had afforded no room for
their enemy’s vain glorious boast. But those who
have stood high on Fortune’s wheel, must abide
by the consequence of its revolutions. Thus much
I will at least say for my father’s house, that it
has not stood unhonoured; nor will it fall —if it
is to fall—unlamented. Forbear, then, if you are
indeed the Christian you call yourself, to exult in
the misfortunes of others, or to confide in your
own prosperity. If the light of our House be