A Daughter of Maryland — page 143: what you’re looking at

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

122 A DAUGHTER OF MARYLAND. Aurian, holding the garment up so the housekeeper could see it. ‘‘Why bless me, Orry! that is the old coat Furah found in the garret, and she asked me if S’posen couldn’t wear it to the cake-walk to-night. I hope I haven’t done anything wrong in letting him have it. I did not know the thing was in being until she ran across it in overhauling some old things. .Did I do wrong?’’ ‘Oh, no. But there is a coat of Robert’s in his ward- robe—I mean the blue one—that will be better for S’posen to wear than this. See! this will hardly hold together, it is so old; S’posen, tell Furah to get the coat I have mentioned, and then you can go to the cake-walk.’’ Showing the relief he felt to escape thus easily by a broad grin and an overcommon ducking and swinging, S’posen left without delay. Aurian tried to appear calm, but there was a tremor in her voice in spite of all as she asked of Mrs. Ralston: ** Whose coat is this?’’ ‘fWhy bless me, child! how white you look. Are you sick ?’’ ‘‘No, Mrs. Ralston; but you have not answered my question. Who used to wear this coat?’’ | ‘*Why your father, my dear. He used to wear it when I first came to Sylvania, and that was before you were born. ’’ Aurian did not hear half that the other said, and every- thing seemed to float before her eyes. ‘*Didn’t ever any one else wear it?’’ ‘‘Not to my knowledge. At least never since the night he wore it when it-got that ugly rent in its back. I don’t know what happened that night, but he was out till nearly morning—yes, quite that, for I was up when he came in, looking as white as a ghost. When I asked him what the trouble was he didn’t speak. But he took that coat off, and saying he had torn it, told me to burn it up. I know Comicboo cS