Roxy Hastings — page 156: what you’re looking at

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

ROXY HASTINGS. 147 ging and kissing them by turns, without the least apparent regard for her elegant dress, or bonnet, or ribbons, vail, or hair—all of which suffered a little from the precipitate grapple of the darlings. He’s too young to be away from his mamma,” she said, clinging tenderly to the smaller of the two boys, while a real, genuine, bright, glistening tear stole down the widow’s cheek, subduing the least doubt of her excellence in the mind of Jedediah, and quite completing her con-. quest. The call was a short one. The presents were distributed, and the room echoed with shouts. Jedediah petted and praised the children, praised the lady of the house, the school, the weather, everything, and then rose to go. “They'll let us off now, I think, Mrs. Bright,” he said. There was a violent protest, but a little coaxing and a _ promise to look in again on their return quelled the mu- tineers, and mamma was let off. 3 “They are noble boys,” said Burr, as the carriage rolled off. “The younger is very beautiful, and he is the image of—of his mother.” “Oh, Mr. Burr !” ‘Fact, madam,” said Jedediah, who had taken a back seat this time beside his companion, crowding her ample erinoline a little, but seeming quite unaware of that cir- cumstance. ‘I never flatter,” he continued, ‘‘unless the truth is flat- tery, and I say little Freddy is the image of his—his beau- tiful mamma.” The widow blushed deeply now; but she laughed, too, and did not seem painfully embarrassed.” ‘I declare, you will make me quite vain!” she said, not knowing what else to say. “You have aright to be. Who has a better right?” ‘‘But you know, Mr. Burr, that pride and poverty do not go well together.” ‘““Poverty! I wish you were ten times poorer than you are.” ~ “You cruel man!” ‘I wish your children were in rags.” “You monster !” “Yes, in rags!” “Why? Why? Why?” ‘So that I should have the more pleasure in offering you, as I do now, my fortune, my house, my hand,” COMING JOO “S (eo) Sh