The Evil Genius: A Domestic Story — page 60: what you’re looking at

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

THE EVIL GENIUS. €9 eonfusion of pride and astonishment. She practiced bowing ta strangers, in her new dress; she practiced shaking hands before the glass, and became serious and thoughtful. Kind and dear Mr. Linley was in her mind now. While she was asking herself anxiously what he would think of her, Kitty—arranged in her new finery, as vain and as happy as her governess—drummed with both fists outside the door, and announced at the top of her voice that it was time to go down-stairs. Sydney’s agitation at the prospect of meeting the ladies in the drawing-room added a charm of its own to the flush that her exercises before the glass had left on her face. Shyly following instead of leading her little companion into the room, she pre— sented such a charming appearance of youth and beauty that the ladies paused in their talk to look at her. Some few ad- mired Kitty’s .overness with generous interest; the greater num- ber doubted Mrs. Linley’s prudence in engaging a girl so very pretty and so very young. Little by little Sydney’s manner— simple, modest, shrinking from observation—pleaded in her favor even with the ladies who had been prejudiced against her at the outset. When Mrs. Linley presented her to the guests, the most beautiful woman among them (Mrs. MacEKdwin) made room for her on the sofa, and with perfect tact and kindness set the stranger at herease. Whenthe gentlemen came in from the din- ner-table, Sydney was composed enough to admire the brilliant scene, and to wonder again, as she had wondered already, what Mr. Linley would say to her new dress. Mr. Linley certainly did notice her—-at a distance. He looked at her with a momentary fervor of interest and ad- miration which made Sydney (so gratefully and so guiltlessly at- tached to him) tremble with pleasure; he even stepped forward as if to approach her, checked himself, and went back again among his guests. Now in one part of the room, now in an- other, she saw him speaking tothem. ‘The one neglected person whom he never even looked at again was the poor girl to whom his approval was the breath of her life. Had she ever felt as unhappy as she felt now? No, not even at ber aunt’s school! Friendly Mrs. MacEdwin touched her arm. ‘‘ My dear, you are losing your pretty color. Are you overcome by the heat? Shall I take you into the next room?” Sydney expressed her sincere sense of the lady’s kindness. Her commonplace excuse was a true excuse—she had a head- ache; and she asked leave to retire to her room. Approaching the door, she found herself face to face with Mr. Linley. He had just been giving directions to one of the serv- ants, and was re-entering the drawing-room. She stopped, trembling and cold; but in the very intensity of her wretched- ness she found courage enough to speak to him. ‘You seem to avoid me, Mr. Linley,” she began, speaking with an air of formal respect, and keeping her eyes on the ground. ‘‘T hope”—she hesitated, and desperately looked at him—‘‘I hope I haven’t done anything to offend you ?” In her knowledge of him, up to that miserable evening, he constantly spoke to her with asmile. She had never yet seen ECOMMICLO® S (E) im