Roxy Hastings — page 147: what you’re looking at

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

138 ROXY HASTINGS. have welcomed as a refuge from irremediable grief. But there were others to live for besides himself, and he re- solved to bear the burden of life as cheerfully as possible— not without hope that the goading memories which now tortured him might, with the lapse of time, lose something of their poignancy. r He had written to Hartley on his arrival at Fortress Monroe, announcing his safety, and begging t be informed _of his friend’s condition, and especially whether any pun- ishment had been inflicted upon him for his humanity, and also promising to watch diligently for an opportunity to transmit some funds to him. To this letter he had re- ceived, while staying in Washington, the following brief reply : ‘¢My Drar FRIEND: J am so rejoiced to hear of your escape that I can think of nothing else. My punishment has been light, and it is passed. Hess does not fare so well. Do not send me any more money, for I do not need it ; and if the sum is large I should not be 2 Rage to receive it. My health improves. If I am exchanged I ope to be able to come and see you. My letter is short for obvious — reasons. Your friend, Lovis.” CHAPTER XXVIII. THE WILY WIDOW. Mr. Burr did not wear mourning for Miss Holden, nor did he attend the funeral. He ignored his late engagement as far as possible, and broke off all intimacy with the Holden family. He secluded himself from society, though he was occasionally seen in business circles, but he no longer manifested his aeccus- tomed ardor in the chase of fortune. It was not grief but mortification that weighed him down. That a young lady should commit suicide to escape marrying him, and that the world should know- it, was a source of perpetual humiliation to Jedediah, as it well might be. He had no confidants and few intimate friends, but he often felt a longing to unbosom himself to some one, and to hear some good-natured friend controvert the views which he took of his own position. At the hotel where he boarded there was a beaming widow of thirty-six, or eight, plump and radiant—one of those few favored mortals who seem born to attract all who come within their influence. Gomicbooks.co