Roxy Hastings — page 180: what you’re looking at

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

ROXY HASTINGS. 171 value,” replied the terrified Laura, “for he charged us so many times over to see to it in case of fire.” The benevolent widow had tried to prevent this being said before Louis’ mother, but all was confusion, astonish- ment, and grief. “ Perhaps—perhaps he didn’t do it,” she said to the stunned and appalled mother.. “I cannot—I cannot believe it. My Louis! My Louis! Oh, no! no! no!” Kldon, who had been walking the room for some min- utes, stopped and said: “How much worse is it than disobedience to parents, and running away? It’s only another step.” “Oh, he never would—never—if—if you had been a little more gentle with him, George. Never—never.” ‘Bosh! If he could have been master he would have staid at home, of course. But he must enlist, and we all know what kind of a school for morals the army is. It’sa bad job—a dreadful bad job. State prison, of course.” Mrs. Eldon shrieked, and the widow quickly said : ‘‘No, no, no. My son never will prosecute, I am sure. Whatever Louis is, he saved Alfred’s life, and that obliga- _ tion can never be canceled. They never will prosecute.” “If they don’t somebody else may,” said Eldon. ‘We must find him, and get him sent off to sea; to China, or Japan, or some more distant place, if there is any.” “Where we shall never—never see him again. Oh, itis too horrible. It will kill Celia, and—and—oh, if we could only all have died, Louis and all, long, long ago, before this terrible thing happened—while he was innocent, inno- eent—oh, what a sweet word that is!” In the light of her great sorrow Mrs. Eldon seemed mo- mentarily to have lost her habitual awe of her husband. She walked the room frantically, she wrung her hands, and she no longer tried to stop the course of the tears which ran in rivulets down her cheeks. ‘You forget that Mrs. Lee is also a sufferer in this affair,” said her husband at last. “Yes, yes, I forgot, I beg her pardon. But money seems so small a matter now. He shall give it all back, madam —all—I know he willif I can see him. But, oh, that will not give him back to me, pure and innocent, innocent, in- nocent. Oh, God, that can never be!” ) What could be said to lessen grief like this? The widow and her daughter did what they could to soothe her, and even Eldon was melted into something like mildnegs, Gomichoo (@) eS) (ele)