Roxy Hastings — page 135: what you’re looking at

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

126 ROXY HASTINGE. the day on which the intelligence was received, the family were all gone. Mrs. and Miss Lee had started a few hours before for Washington, a servant said, and Mr. Charles Lee had been absent more than a week. “They’ve had dreadful news, sir,” said the girl, “and the old lady is in an awful way. Her oldest son is to be hung in Richmond, and they have gone to Washington to see if anything can be done to stop it.” “They might as well have stayed at home,” muttered Mark, turning away. “As if two women were going to stop the wheels of government with their tears !” Mark had the more readily done what he could to soothe his frantic daughter, because he felt assured that all efforts to arrest Lee’s fate would be in vain, and that when he was out of the way, and Lucy’s grief had been allowed an unrestrained flow, she would subside into more perfect acquiescence to his will than before. It might be neces- sary to postpone the wedding, but what was a little delay compared with the added cheerfulness and vivacity which such a course would insure in the bride ? He was surprised to find Lucy much calmer on his re- turn, and to see that her comparative composure contin- ued, notwithstanding he had brought her no words of hope. He did not understand that this was a natural reaction from her violent emotion, and that she was sinking into the apathy of despair. He improved the occasion to recover his authority, and to warn her of the impropriety of exhibiting any special grief for young Lee in her peculiar circumstances. “We may mourn him as a friend of the family very properly,” he said, with a majestical air; “but of course nothing could be more distasteful to—to Mr. Burr than to witness any very marked sorrow in his bride elect” (Lucy shuddered) for the—the loss of a young gentleman who was in no wise related to us. You understand ?” Lucy had buried her face in her hands, but she nodded assent. Without further signs of insubordination, Lucy simply requested that she might be excused from seeing Mr. Burr for a few days, and this favor was readily accorded. In- deed, probably she would not have been allowed to meet him if she had desired while in such extreme dejection ; for Mark thought it. important to withhold from his pros- pective son-in-law all knowledge of what had taken place. If he had seen the announcement about Lee in the paper Gomicbooks.co