A Social Meteor — page 261: what you’re looking at

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

A SOCIAL MUTEOR. 201 CHAPTER XVII. WILY MRS. THORNE. Mrs. Thorne was “not at home.” ‘To begin with, she had spent an almost sleepless night, full of terrible dreams and melancholy thoughts, and she had counted every hour after four o’clock. At eight, thoroughly exhausted, she had rung for Annette, and told her to prepare a tepid bath, well sprinkled with eau de cologne. After a'brisk rubbing, she had felt decidedly better, and had eaten her breakfast with some appetite. But she was still far from well, and she had declined to see any one who called, and spent most of the morning dozing on the lounge. At noon, how- ever, her dressmaker had begged so earnestly for a few moments’ speech with her, that Joseph, who knew from experience that Mrs. Thorne seldom denied herself to mademoiselle, had made the mistake of allowing her to go up stairs. But alas! this person’s visit, although short, had left Mrs. Thorne in a more wretched state than be- fore. She had not come to fit on a new gown, or even to talk one over, with her fair customer. On the contrary, it was only that morning she Gomicbooks (E(@)