Richard Forrest, Bachelor — page 235: what you’re looking at

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

226 EXONERATED. maiden—and she almost succeeded. I grew attached to the little creature, and had every reason to suppose she cared forme. Finally I made up my mind to propose to her, in spite of her intimacy with Dolly, whose acquaintanceship is not regarded with anything approaching favor by the good set, as you are aware. This was a foolish, inconsider- ate notion on my part, of course, but the truth is, I felt a sentimental pity for the girl, who confided in me that she was forced to live out in the country, with an older sister who was totally uncongenial in every way and who ruled her with a rod of iron. ‘Dolly harped on this strain to me, too, with a quantity of ‘gush’ of her own, until, at last, I was worked up to the proper pitch, and one fine night I went around to offer her my heart and hand. ‘‘On asking for the ladies, I was shown into the recep. tion-room to await the end of dinner, which, it seems, was unusually late that evening. I instructed the butler, who had seen me often, not to announce my presence until they had left the table, as he told me there were two men there, with whose names I was unfamiliar. ‘*Now brush the cobwebs off your brain, and you will re-. call the little Japanese room just back of the reception- room, where every one always went for coffee at Dolly’s. You remember it? Good! The lamps in this place were turned low as they came out from dinner and a subtle oriental perfume floated in theair. You are doubtless aware that this sort of combination is often conducive to unrestrained, even familiar, conversation, particularly un- der the proper circumstances, and apparently these were pre-eminently so. The fascinating Dolly and her guests had dined well—very well, I judged, from what ensued, Gomicbooks. co