A Parisian Romance — page 101: what you’re looking at

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

—_ 92 A PARISIAN ROMANCE, “Oh!” said Madame de Targy, quickly. “Do not judge him, do not condemn him too severely before knowing all. Your father had invested this fortune in several different places. One of the sums in- vested, six or seven hundred thousand francs, I think, was ingulfed in the failure of the Smithson house in London. Then to restore the fund he held in trust to its original figures, your father was forced to take from his own fortune the amount lost. He tried to recover it by speculations on the Bourse, which proved unlucky. We both know, Henri, your father’s feelings, but he was an honest man. Finally, he lost all he possessed, and when the time came to pay over to Armande the money, he found staring him in the face the alternative of reducing us all to absolute poverty, want perhaps, or of failing to keep his word.” “Ts it possible!” ejaculated Henri, burying his face in his hands. “And he bequeathed to you this horrible burden !” “Henri,” said his mother gently, placing her thin white hand softly upon his head. “Forgive him! He suffered so much.” . | Oh! divine charity of woman! All she had under- gone from her husband’s coldness and neglect was forgotten, and she remembered him only with feel- ings of pardon and pity. Henri raised’ his head and took her hands in his. He was very pale. He realized all that the story Gomicbooks..com