Alfred de Rosann — page 40: what you’re looking at

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

ALFRED DE ROSANN. SI beloved Eloise, wherein he assured her of the perma- nence of his affection, and of the sanguine hopes he entertained of being one day able to demand her hand In marriage of her mother. He besought her not to despair, but to keep up her spirits to the utmost “of her power, and refrain, as much as possible, from tor- menting Mrs. Clayton with supplications that at pre- sent were vain, as he was almost certain of speedily removing every obstacle to their union. CHAPTER IV. MR. CLAYTON AND THE COOK. WHEN once a subject of dispute arises in a family, and is not immediately settled by a firm decision, scarcely a day passes without witnessing a reference to the unpleasant topic. Mrs. Clayton was perpetually endeavouring to persuade her brother-in-law to forbear mentioning the name of De Rosann ‘in the presence of his niece ; and he as invariably forgot, or wilfully transgressed, her injunctions. The object of all his comparisons, when he wished to cite an instance of a noble disposition, or an honourable-minded young man, was De Rosann: he never returned from his walk, but he was sure to have seen a person who strongly reminded him of De Rosann : the best dinner he ever had eaten in France, was at the Rocher de Cancale with De Rosann : he seldom failed to notice, at supper-time, that he wished he had some of the Madeira he was accustomed to drink when he passed the evening at De Rosann’s house ; and as soon as his eye caught sight of the Constitutionnel and the Journal des Debats* on the breakfast-table of * The two leading French daily papers. Gomicbooks (c@)