Roxy Hastings — page 184: what you’re looking at

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

Oe i a? ee tn het avg - — ROXY HASTINGS, 175 “You are dear, good, noble people. Oh, if he had met with a little more kindness at home this would never have been. He was a dear, good boy; he loved me ; he loved his sisters ; he never, never was false, or mean, or cruel— never. But Eldon was too harsh with him. I always told him so, and I must say it now in vindication of my boy.” “I believe you, ma’am. I saw his treatment of you to- day, and I believe you.” “I don’t wish to speak against my husband and. before strangers—but for Lewy’s sake I’ll tell you how it was. We have a very small farm just-out of the village of ——, and Kldon has a store in the village, too.” bb Yes. 99 “ Well, our family is large—four boys and three girls— and Lewy is the oldest. He was always studious, and I wanted to educate him, and did partly with my own means —for I had a little income separate.” 6 Yes. ? “ How I worked and pinched myself to do it no one ever knew but Him,” she said, looking upward. “All the while he was preparing for college at the village academy he worked several hours a day, and all day Saturday on the farm willingly, and at last he was examined and admitted at Union.” “A good college it is, too.” “Yes, that was a happy day for me, but Eldon was never satisfied about it—said we couldn’t afford it, and when he met with a few hundred dollars’ loss about two years after- ward nothing would do but that Louis must come hone— just as he was about entering the junior class—and give it all up.” + Wane dear, that was too bad.” “Then he was kept hard at work on the farm in summe?»; in the store in winter—was allowed no recreations, no money—was poorly clothed—was scolded perpetually, until —until—he wrote a kind, dear little letter of farewell to me and the children, and run away. In the army he must have acquired all his bad habits, but how he could have fallen so low—in so short a time—I cannot imagine. Per- haps, influenced by bad example, he took to drinking—for that is a vice that draws all others in its train.” “We—we did notice something of this in his—in his breath,” said the widow, with hesitation. “Ah! ah! that’s it then—so low, solow. Yet how even that should ever have made him dishonest, false, or mean, I cannot understand,” | Eomicbook