A Fair Fraud — page 86: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

A Fair Fraud 7 6 white muslin, but, of course, he had not the . smallest desire to talk to it. He said to him- self that he supposed he should have to talk to it, more or less, presently. But to begin with he addressed himself to his soup, ‘for he had had no lunch, and he was hungry. When the soup was despatched he began to think it might be time to speak to his neighbour. What should he begin upen? The weather? The beauties of the surround- ing country? Should he ask her if she rode or skated? Or should he inquire whether she was musical or sketched from nature ? All these vapid questions would lead, no doubt, to equally vapid replies, which would be profoundly uninteresting to him; but, at least, he should be doing his duty—a thing every Englishman feels some satisfaction in doing at whatever personal sacrifice to him- self. But whilst he was still debating how to begin an utterly puerile conversation suited to the capacities of a frivolous maiden robed in white muslin, he suddenly lifted his eyes from his plate, and all inadvertently they fell upon the lady who sat exactly opposite him on the other side of the table. Mr Naylor remained staring at her fixedly— so fixedly, indeed, that the rigidity of his gaze attracted Marion's attention. She followed it GOMMGIOO oO C' Q)