Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 102: what you’re looking at

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

92° | OOTA VIA'S PRIDE. Would it be right after all? The poor people had better pay their hard-earned money for it, rather than not have it at all. Suddenly there came to her,.so suddenly that it seemed like a.whisper from an invisible presence, the re- membrance of a day when Doctor Morley and she had been filling bottles with the precious cordial. «Jenny Wren,” said the doctor, ‘“‘do you know if you were assistant doctor anywhere else, you would be putting in cunning adulterations here, and weakening there, and re- sorting to all those miserable sutberfuges which lessen the cost of an article of merchandise, and tltus add to the profit? So artful and dishonest is this poor human nature of ours, when once it is clutched in the evil grasp of Mammon. Child, child, you do not know this poor, tricky world of ours. I verily believe not one man in one hundred who under- took our cordial but would spoil its virtue, in trying to make it profitable.” This man before her was just one of those men who woke the scorn of that noble soul. In his hands, the cordial would degenerate, become the imposition Doctor Morley had hated. Jane looked up no longer irresolute. The man thought he had conquered, and.a glow bright- ened his face, but the fierce-scowl came back before her sen- tence was finished. ‘‘T have no right to depart from Doctor Morley’s instruc- tions. I would fue ie my hand before 1 would let it write that recipe for you.” . ‘< It may be cut off without your help,” muttered the baf- fled heir. ‘‘ I tell you I have a right to the recipe, and you shall give it to me.’ And he closed the door, against which he had planted himself, locked it once more, and went down to his confed- erate. , - Jane sat down to her dinner and ate heaibidsy after a “comicboo! i ‘ " fi » Ak + yf oh " Nat : , . 7 . ; ed oe UMS cs. : co mM Mo Talis wis “ides My