Octavia's Pride; or, The Missing Witness — page 33: what you’re looking at

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

OCTAVIA’S PRIDE | 93 sight of,” pursued Miss Wainwriuht, in the same meditative tone of voice. , The sick man turned uneasily upon his pillow. She stroked his hand with those light, caressing fingers of hers. ‘‘T have been going over the whole history. I looked through that yellow package of letters, and the note-books, and as I came along in the railway carriage, | made out such a story as will always stay by me. See if I am right about it, papa. I would like you to set me right, if I have taken any wrong impressions. Lie down on the pillow—there, get an easy posture and let me have your hand. Dear papa, you must take some of the coolness from mine into those dry, hot fingers. Now, shall 1 commence?” He turned his face so that he could feast his eyes upon her animated countenance, and with a sigh of forced con- tent, resigned himself to listen. The same stately composure was in her demeanor that — eraced it when she was presented at the Duchess of G ’s latest reception. A slow smile quivered across the full red lips. The pale blue eyes deepened beneath their glow of kindling interest. « ‘‘T shall begin, like the story-makers. Once upona time in Hartfordshire, papa, there was a strange, fierce-tempered, but somehow singularly fascinating man. (You know how I have always hung admiringly over his portrait in the old gallery my beau-ideal of a hero, who would have ability. to command as well as charm me.) And this dark, wild man fell in love with a little blue-eyed girl, sweet afid fair as a violet and quite as frail. A little girl, who, of course, had other lovers, in fact she was already engaged when he found her. But what account was that to one of his vehement, imperious nature? Of course he won her away and married her, laughing to scorn the discarded lover’s threat of vengeance. But the malediction seemed to work. ‘The young wife died when her boy-babe opened to the light a ¢s) €o Comicboo!l