The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 227: what you’re looking at

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

216 TH IVIL GENIUS. Kitty said: *‘ This is the cottage, sir; do you want to see mamma?” The last words fell faintly from her lips; she hardly knew whether she was frightened or surprised. There the stranger stood, with his eyes fixed on her; thinner and paler, and not looking happy—and yet like, oh, so like her lost father! His sorrowful eyes rested kindly on her. The child ventured to say: ‘* Do you know me, sir?” He answered in the saddest voice that Kitty had ever heard, ‘* My little girl, what makes you chink I know you?” She was at a loss how toreply, fearing to distress him, She could only say, ‘* You are so like my poor papa.” He shook and shuddered, as if she had said something to frighten him. He took her hand. On that hot day his fingers felt as cold as if it had been winter-time. He lead her back to the seat that she had left. ‘*‘Il’m tired, my dear,’’ he said. ‘‘ Shall we sit down?” It was surely true that he wastired. He seemed hardly able to lift one foot after the other. Kitty pitied him. ‘‘I think you must be ill,” she said, as they took their places, side by side. on the bench. | “No; not ill. Only weary, and perhaps a little afraid of frightening you.” He kept her hand in his hand, and patted it from time to time. ‘‘ My dear, why did you say ‘ poor papa,’ — when you spoke of your father just now ?” ‘¢ My father is dead, sir.” He turned his face away from her, and pressed both hands on his breast, as if he felt some dreadful pain there, and was trying to hide it. But he mastered the pain: and he said a strange thing to her—very gently; but still it was strange. He wished to know who had told her that her father was dead. ‘‘Grandmamma told me.” ‘*Do you remember what grandmamma said ?” ‘‘ Yes; she told me papa was drowned at sea.” He said something to himself, and said it twice over. ‘* Not her mother! Thank God, not her mother!” What did he mean? Kitty looked and looked at him, and wondered and wondered. He put his arm round her. ‘‘Come near me,” he said. ‘‘ Don’t be afraid of me, my dear.” She moved nearer, and showed him that she was not afraid. The poor man seemed hardly to under- stand her. His eyes grew dim; he sighed like a person in dis- tress; he said: ‘‘ Your father would have kissed you, little one, if he had been alive. You say 1am like yourfather. May I kiss you?” She put up her hands on his shoulder, and lifted her face to him. In the instant when he kissed her the child knew him. Her heart beat suddenly with an overpowering delight; she started back from his embrace. ‘‘ That’s how papa used to kiss me!” she cried. ‘*Oh! vou are papa! Not drowned! not drowned!” She flung her arms round his neck, and held him as if she would never let him go again. ‘‘ Dear papa! Poor, lost papa!” His tears fell on her face; he sobbed over her. ‘‘ My sweet darling! my own little Kitty!” The hysterical passion that had overcome her father filled her ECORMICLOOOKS. EO