Geoffrey's Victory by Mrs Georgie Sheldon — page 129: what you’re looking at

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

AN INTERESTING DWELLING. | 125 handsome table in the center of the floor, covered with a richly embroidered cloth, evidently the work of a skillful pair of hands, and the young man wondered if Annie Dale had wrought the heautiful thing. There was a small piano between the two front windows, a book-case, filled with books by standard authors, in a corner, and at one end there was a lovely writing-desk. containing numer- ous drawers and pigeon-holes, and every convenience for writing. A small woerk-basket, on an elaborate stand, | stood beside a pretty rocker by one of the low front win- dows. It was a dainty affair, lined with crimson satin and garnished with bows of ribbon te match; and Everet Mapleson could imagine just how the graceful figure of the fair girl to whom it had belonged, had Tooked as she sat beside it, intent upon some delicate bit of sewing or embroidery. - He turned again to the writing-desk, as if he instinct- ively felt that this was more likely than anything else to. contain some information regarding the former occupants of the pretty house. ; It was not locked. He opened it, laving the cover out flat, and then began pulling out the drawers and peering into the various ~ pigeon-holes and compartments. They were all empty—-so far there had not been even a scrap of paper to tell who, in davs gone by, had made use of the convenient and elegant affair—and he shut them up again with a sigh of impatience and regret, while a feel- ing of gloom began to oppress him; there was something very dreary in this house, so completely furnished, yet so silent and deserted. A sensation of guilt, too, began to intrude uncomfort- ably upon him. It almost seemed asif the former occu- pants of this home, although perhaps long since dead and passed beyond all things earthly, were yet spiritually present at that moment, and were viewing, with a re- proachful eye, this wanton invasion of the place that had once been sacred to them. : He put up the cover, and was pushing in the little side rests that had held it, when a scrap of paper, wedged in beside one of.them, caught his eye. Something very like an electric shock ran along hig nerves at this discovery. He tried to dislodge the paper, but if was very firmly caught, while the ragged edges did not protrude suffi- ciently to allow him to grasp it with his fingers. Gomicbooks (E(0) S