José — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

JOSE. 11 weeping, threw her arms around his neck, and fell at his feet, till Joseph was glad to compose her again. This marked a change in her life. She grew thoughtful and grave from this time on, and devoted herself unremittingly to her prescribed tasks. Winter succeeded a cold, cheerless autumn, con- fining indoors all, and none could escape the dis- comforts of the severe atmosphere, and Joseph »romised himself a favorable turn in his wife’s sondition. But Pepita’s silence was that of the captive forest bird whose wings are clipped, which falls into the drawing-room, flutters with an attempt at gayety, pecks at the window panes and sadly hops back to its corner. As Pepita was in delicate health, Joseph ascribed her depressed feelings to this condition, and flattered himself with the de- cision that the instincts of maternity would event- ually curb the old intractable spirit that dwelt within her; but with each recurring day the roses on the dusky cheeks of the young wife grew paler and paler; for hours she would sit at the window peering into the foggy atmosphere; like a broken reed she would respond to the call of some light duty; and now Joseph’s smooth brow began to grow darker and darker. When he spoke to her in words of encouragement, she would say: “Am I not obeying you?” or else she would cast herself on his breast and weep scalding tears, that seemed to give her no relief. Thus the winter drew to a close, and with the increasing traces of sorrow that marked Joseph’s face, the gloom that had settled upon the household grew more oppressive. One day in early spring, when all outdoor nature whispered of new birth, the Gomicboo cS (@(@) =