The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 119: what you’re looking at

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

108 THE EVIL GENIUS. erted his imagination, and invented something that no woman ever did yet. ‘‘She’s waiting,” he said, ‘‘to see how her mar- riage succeeds before she tells anybody about it.” This sounded probable to the mind of a child. ‘‘I hope she hasn’t married a beast,” Kitty said, with a serious face and an ominous shake of the head. ‘* When shall I hear from Syd ?” Mr. Sarrazin tried another prevarication—with better results this time. ‘* You will be the first person she writes to, of courre.” As that excusable he passed his lips, his float began to tremble. Here wasa chance of changing the subject! ‘* Pve got a fish!” he cried. Kitty was immediately interested. She threw down her own rod, and assisted her ignorant companion. A wretched little fish appeared in the air, wriggling. ‘It’s a roach,” Kitty pro- nounced. ‘It’s in pain,” the merciful lawyer added; ‘“ give it tome.” Kitty took it off the hook, and obeyed. Mr. Sarrazin, with humane gentleness of handling, put it back into the water. ‘Go, and God bless you,” said this excellent man, as the roach disappeared joyously with a flick of its tail. Kitty was scandal- ized. ‘‘ That’s not sport!” she said. ‘‘ Oh, yes, it is,” he an swered—‘‘ sport to the fish.” They went on with their angling. What embarrassing ques- tion would Kitty ask next? "Would she want to be told why her father had left her. No; the last image in the child’s mind had been the image of Sydney Westerfield. She was still thinking of it when she spoke again. ‘‘T wonder whether you’re right about Syd?’ she began, ‘You might be mistaken, mightn’t you? I sometimes fancy mamma and Sydney may have hada quarrel. Would you mind asking mamma if that’s true?” the affectionate little creature, said, anxiously. ‘‘ You see, I can’t help talking of Syd, ’m so fond of her; and Ido miss her so dreadfully every now and then; and I’m afraid—oh, dear, dear, I’m afraid I shall never see her again!” She let her rod drop on the pier, and put her little hands over her face, and burst out crying. Shocked and distressed, good Mr. Sarrazin kissed her, and con- soled her, and told another excusable lie. ‘‘ Try tobe comforted, Kitty; ’'m sure you wil] see her again.” His conscience reproached him as he held out that false hope. It could never be! The one unpardonable sin, in the judgment of fallible human creatures like herself, was the sin that Syndey Westerfield had committed. Is there something wrong in human nature, or something wrong in human laws? Ail that is best and noblest in us feels the influence of love—and the rules of society declare that an accident of position shall decide whether love is a virtue or a crime. These thoughts were in the lawyer’s mind. They troubled and disheartened him; it was a relief rather than an interruption when he felt Kitty’s hand on his arm. She had dried her tears, with a child’s happy facility in passing from one emotion to an- other, and was now astonished and interested by a marked change in the weather. ‘¢ Look for the lake!’ she cried. ‘‘ You can’t see it.” m ECONNICLIOOKS peo