Richard Forrest, Bachelor — page 164: what you’re looking at

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

ARTHUR’S OPINION. 155 either. But Idoubtif she has. She is even incapable of longing.”’ ‘“What a nature you attribute to her! To be plain, you consider her conceited and self-sufficient. ’’ ‘The gods forbid!’’ cried Arthur. ‘‘I have reason to know she is far from that, as her devotion to Gertrude proves, and she has won my eternal gratitude. No, she is only self- contained, self-reliant; her desires are few, and her wants still less. She has little in common with any one and is sat- isfied with so much less than most people, that you rather pity her. There might be luxury on all sides of her, and yet I doubt if she would be happy if she ‘got it’ like the Pear’s soap baby. And now,’’ he continues, imperturbably, ‘‘that I have set your teeth all on edge by forcing you to listen to so much that you don’t like to hear, or wish to be- lieve, I will take the sharpness out of some of my remarks by stating in conclusion, that Miss Cameron possesses one thing, however, which will always attract people to her.”’ ‘*Indeed?”’ It was evident that Dick had no particular desire to listen longer to his friend’s ‘‘opinion.”’ ‘*Yes,’’ resumed Arthur, not in the least daunted. ‘‘She has—individuality.”’ ‘‘Individuality?’’ repeated Dick, inquiringly. ‘‘T think that’s the word,’’ continued Arthur, in the same indolent tone. ‘‘You know some people have a sort of per- sonality which marks them distinctly. With women it shows itself in a dozen different ways, insignificant, per- haps, but unmistakable; it may be in the fashion they wear their hair, the pose of the head, the walk, anything and everything. They may do and wear what every one else does, for I don’t mean to insinuate that they’re odd or GoOmichbookssco