Beautiful Rienzi; or, The secret vendetta — page 79: what you’re looking at

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

74. BEAUTIFUL RIENZI. you, you'll hear about this, you stupid fool!” she continued, turning sharply to the man in livery, who was now beside us. “‘Come along, madam, and state your business above.” I was prudent, making no demonstration when my Isolina was again hidden from me, but followed silently the woman back to the room I had left. ‘“ Now, ma’am,” she said, grimly, ‘as brief as you can, if you please; my time is precious.’ ‘‘T wish to understand what this establishment is, and what its rules are,” I responded, in as quiet atone as I could assume. “This is a strictly private house, madam, for insane ladies whose families wish to conceal the calamity. As for the rules, one of the most stringent is that no visitor is al- lowed to see the patients, except by written order of the parties who placed them here. I’m sorry that you saw fit to break the rules, madam. I suppose you will not take advantage of the knowledge you have picked up to go and make mischief.” The half-cajoling, half theestening manner of the woman aroused my particular attention. I began to understand that this establishment might not be always conducted on principles of the strictest honesty, and this knowledge made me doubly cautious. “‘T shall take advantage of nothing, if my business is at- tended to in a satisfactory manner,” I said. ‘ I would like to know if a patient’s family can come and reclaim her, when they think she has enjoyed the advantages of this house long enough?” ‘Every patient is sent here for a certain term,” returned the matron, warily; ‘for five, ten, or even twenty years; after which they are returned to the persons who sent them, unless the lease be renewed. We never change these rules.” «« But supposing the person who sent them took the right upon themselves without consulting the family of the pa- tient, what then?” ‘‘ We have no responsibility in the matter,” said the ma- tron, rising; ‘‘all business of sending or returning patients is done by letter. We never receive any personal communi- cations, and no one ever recovers an inmate of this house who does not bring an order from the person who placed her here,” 3? CORNUCG OOO S (©)