A Parisian Romance — page 70: what you’re looking at

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

A PARISIAN ROMANCE 61 things; his wife had nothing. She had been com- fortably enough brought up by her aunt, but she had no fortune of her own, an insignificant dowry. It was a love match, the least likely to last of all! And, then,” lowering his voice, “there are mysteries in the house, vou know.” Vaumartin looked surprised. “No,” he answered, “I did not know. You forget that I have been in Saint Petersburg for the last three years. Come, tell me all about it,” he added, throwing himself into a chair beside Tirandel, whose eyes were closed, and who was evidently already in a doze. “Well, here goes, then,” said the baron, following his friend’s example. “About two years ago, not long before his son’s marriage—by the way, it happened on that most auspicious occasion, my own wedding-day—the elder De Targy died suddenly, and there were, in connection with his death, cer- tain singular circumstances; there were even rumors of suicide. What is positive, however, is, that since that time Madame de Targy, the dowager I mean, has fallen into a very strange condition.” “A little crazy, isn’t she?” “No, not exactly crazy, but extraordinary, odd, peculiar. She used to be quite a pleasant sort of woman. Ihave seen her when she was very agree- able, very agreeable indeed. But she suddenly aged enormously, and she never shows herself now. She does not even go out, I believe. She GomichbooksiGco im