Guy Hammersley; or, Clearing his Name — page 83: what you’re looking at

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

"74 GUY HAMMERSLEY. Dressed in white, she looked so young that Ward found it almost impossible to believe that she was the mother of a son older than himself. He felt her hand tremble in his, and a great fear took possession of him that she would not be able even to begin her air. It was therefore with no little trepidation that he seated himseif at the piano and played the few bars that preluded the ‘‘Carmen” air she was to sing. But the sweet, pure voice struck in at the proper place, and the opera house was filled with the richest melody. Guy, listening with Ruth in the wings, thought he had never heard his mother sing so well; and in spite of the adverse conditions under which she ap- peared, his heart swelled with pride to feel that she had it in her power to hold the vast audience spell- bound, for this she was clearly doing. The song was almost finished, and glancing for an instant out among the audience, Ward saw ladies drop their opera-glasses and gentlemen put their canes out of the way in readiness to break out into enthusi- asticapplause. Suddenly the singer stopped short-— there was a terrible pause, broken only by the few straggling notes that Ward struck in his confusion, then the same sweet voice was lifted once more; but not this time in song. It was acry, ascream almost, as the singer took a few rapid steps across the stage to a lower pros- cenium box on the Ieft. When she had almost reached it she sank down, with arms outstretched toward a boy of ten oreleven, who, in company with Gomichboo CS (€(@) nm