Beautiful Rienzi; or, The Secret Vendetta — page 31: what you’re looking at

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

24 BEAUTIFUL RIENZI. in every lineament, and I was almost suffocated with the smell of eaw de cologne. ‘Poor little pet! Are you better now?” asked my father. «What was it, dear?” said my father, tenderly. ‘©T don’t know; I am not sick,” I said, raising myself to see my sister. She was holding my head on her arm, her countenance was calm and mild, but a curious flush was on one cheek, while the other was quite pale. «Rest a while. You shall not go down stairs to-night,” she murmured, kindly. ‘*I am going to sit with you here.” ) Our father stood for awhile looking at usin rueful silence, then went away and left us together. ‘© What have you been doing, Iva?” she whispered. ‘‘So- phie tells me your cloak, which she has hung in the ward- robe, is drenched. Those slight boots on your feet are wet and cold as lead. Where have you been, sister?” To hear her ask that question I burst into a paroxysm of tears. ‘“ How can you ask?’ I sobbed. ‘* You who were out in the storm too. Where were yow on this wild night?” ‘© You must be mad, Iva,” said my sister, huskily. ‘‘Who told you such a thing? You must get rid of the very idea of it.” , ‘Tsolina, I saw you from that window out in the street alone; and I—I went too, that I might share your danger. Oh, sister darling! I will be your slave, only tell me this dreadful secret.” “Share my danger!” she muttered more to herself than tome. ‘Qh, you poor little girl!” “Tell me,” I implored, vehemently, ‘‘why should you fear to impart your trials to one who loves you so devotedly? Am I not fit to be your trusted friend ?” She gently released herself from me and rose, and I rose too, though I was weak and dizzy in my anxiety to keep holding her before me. “You must forget that you ever saw any one in the storm,” she said, looking at me with a pale, set face. “You must utterly bury this night from your memory. As you value the peace of this family, Ivanilla, forget Eomicbooks:¢o m