{"product_id":"2940014738484","title":"The Castle Of Otranto","description":"CHAPTER I.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eManfred, Prince of Otranto, had one son and one daughter: the latter, a\u003cbr\u003emost beautiful virgin, aged eighteen, was called Matilda.  Conrad, the\u003cbr\u003eson, was three years younger, a homely youth, sickly, and of no promising\u003cbr\u003edisposition; yet he was the darling of his father, who never showed any\u003cbr\u003esymptoms of affection to Matilda.  Manfred had contracted a marriage for\u003cbr\u003ehis son with the Marquis of Vicenza’s daughter, Isabella; and she had\u003cbr\u003ealready been delivered by her guardians into the hands of Manfred, that\u003cbr\u003ehe might celebrate the wedding as soon as Conrad’s infirm state of health\u003cbr\u003ewould permit.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eManfred’s impatience for this ceremonial was remarked by his family and\u003cbr\u003eneighbours.  The former, indeed, apprehending the severity of their\u003cbr\u003ePrince’s disposition, did not dare to utter their surmises on this\u003cbr\u003eprecipitation.  Hippolita, his wife, an amiable lady, did sometimes\u003cbr\u003eventure to represent the danger of marrying their only son so early,\u003cbr\u003econsidering his great youth, and greater infirmities; but she never\u003cbr\u003ereceived any other answer than reflections on her own sterility, who had\u003cbr\u003egiven him but one heir.  His tenants and subjects were less cautious in\u003cbr\u003etheir discourses.  They attributed this hasty wedding to the Prince’s\u003cbr\u003edread of seeing accomplished an ancient prophecy, which was said to have\u003cbr\u003epronounced that the castle and lordship of Otranto “should pass from the\u003cbr\u003epresent family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to\u003cbr\u003einhabit it.”  It was difficult to make any sense of this prophecy; and\u003cbr\u003estill less easy to conceive what it had to do with the marriage in\u003cbr\u003equestion.  Yet these mysteries, or contradictions, did not make the\u003cbr\u003epopulace adhere the less to their opinion.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47080365621488,"sku":"2940014738484","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/2940014738484_p0.jpg?v=1763615032","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940014738484","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}