The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 113: what you’re looking at

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

102 THE EVIL GENIUS. had brought him from London. To Mrs. Presty’s disgust he turned up a corner of the table-cloth, when he had finished hig chop, and began to conjure so deftly with the spoons and forks that poor little Kitty (often dull, now, under the changed do- mestic circumstances of her life) clapped her hands with please ure, and became the joyous child of the happy old times once more. Mrs. Linley, flattered in her maternal love and her ma- ternal pride, never thought of recalling this extraordinary lawyer to the business that was waiting to be discussed. But Mrs. Presty looked at the clock, and discovered that her grand- child ought to have been in bed half an hour ago. ‘** Time to say good-night,” the grandmother suggested. ; The grandchild failed to see the subject of bed in the same ight. ‘*Oh, not yet,” she pleaded; ‘‘I want to speak to Mr.——” Having only heard the visitor’s name once, and not finding her memory in good working order after the conjuring, Kitty hesi- tated. ‘* Isn’t your name something like Saracen ?”’ she asked. ‘* Very like!” cried the genial lawyer. ‘* Try my other name, my dear. [I’m Samuel as well as Sarrazin.” ‘* Ah, that'll do,” said Kitty. ‘‘Grandmamma, before I go to bed, ’'ve something to ask Samuel.” Grandmamma persisted in deferring the question until the next morning. Samuel administered consolation before he said good-night. ‘‘ Pll get up early,” he whispered, ‘‘and we'll go on the pier before breakfast and fish.” Kitty expressed her gratitude in her own outspoken way. ‘““Oh. dear, how nice it would be, Samuel, if you lived with us!” Mrs. Linley laughed for the first time, poor soul, since the catas- trophe which had broken up her home. Mrs. Presty set a roper example. She moved her chair so that she faced the awyer, and said: ‘* Now, Mr. Sarrazin!” He acknowledged that he understood what this meant by a very unprofessional choice of words. ‘‘ We are in a mess,” he began, ‘* and the sooner we are outof it the better.” ‘‘Onry let me keep Kitty,” Mrs, Linley declared, ‘‘and Ill do whatever you think right.” ‘“Stick to that, dear madam, when you have heard what I have to tell you, and I shall not have taken my journey in vain. In the first place, may I look at the letter which I had the honor of forwarding some days since ?” Mrs. Presty gavehim Herbert Linley’s letter. Heread it with the closest attention, and tapped the breast-pocket of his coat when he had done. “If 1 didn’t know whatI have got here,” he remarked, ‘I should have said: ‘ Another person dictated this letter, and the name of the person is Miss Westerfield.’ ” ‘‘ Just my idea!” Mrs. Presty exclaimed. ‘‘ There can’t be a doubt of it.” ‘‘Oh, but there is very great doubt of it, ma’am; and you will say so, too, when you know what your severe son-in-law threatens to do.” He turned to Mrs. Linley. ‘‘ After having seen that pretty little friend of mine who has just gone to bed GomiGchdooks (EO)