The Grinder Papers — page 38: what you’re looking at

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

4 7» a + hee pay yo » ere — > <<“ soa - ip?! = - _ tle fom’. OX . ~ . -_ 4 = © Ns . ar ad . al od sl LA ee wa? VP OP ed FON rl d - ¥ , f a \ oy yy ¥ a we “S J > rt 4 ° . in 2 Ts” SS Py . ~\- “ % - ” . - ; P ‘i r + . x THE GRINDER PAPERS. 33 there are almost as queer-looking people in society—literary folks, and musical people, and so forth. So I decided to speak of her as a literary lady of immense wealth, from the country, and to invite old Mr. Ginger, who is so deaf he would not be shocked by her bad grammar, and set them down to play chess together in the extension-room, and tried to make the best of the matter, though, dear knows, my heart sank, as it well might, at the prospect before me. | Ours was to be rather an extensive affair, you see, Young Billiwinkle being particular to Florabella Alice, we thought it best to do something to show the Billiwinkles we were able to cut a dash if we chose, for the Billiwinkles are very fashion- able, and astonishingly aristocratic, and we had (even at the risk of offending some very good souls) invited only our most gen- teel acquaintances. Not a vulgar, crowded affair, you know, but just a nice, elegant assemblage, with room for dancing, and a supper that (to tell the truth) cost much more than we could well afford. It was a fine one though. Well, the evening came, and there was Miss Charity, in her blue and green, with the four breadths, which I (what hypo- crites we are sometimes) told her was ‘‘lovely,” and then first of all, thank goodness, came that blessed Mr. Ginger, and I had them out of sight at chess in the extension-room in a twink- ling. The Billiwinkles came early. Horace Billiwinkle never was so attentive to Florabella. I really did fancy he was on the very point of asking the momentous question. _ What a very fine woman Mrs, Billiwinkle looks for one of her Ecomicboo <S