Stella Rosevelt — page 337: what you’re looking at

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

MRS. RICHARDS’ GREAT EXPECTATIONS, 331 ‘‘ Ves, it is Star,” Lord Carrol said, with a tender smile, as he looked upon the portrait. ‘‘lam glad you recognize her, for I should be sorry if she had changed so much that you could not. ‘This is a picture which I love, and which I keep for myself alone. It 1s very seldom that I show it to any one, and I have never told its history to any living being until I told it to you last night. As she stood there that morning in her _ modest beauty, severing that tress at my request, I began to love her with a love that will never die while I live. I have that little lock of gold here now, Mr. Meredith,” he said, touching the diamond-studded locket which hung from his watch-chain, ‘Cand untold wealth could not purchase it from me. Here is the cameo also which I gave her in exchange, and of which I told you, too, last night,” and he held up his left hand, on the little finger of which gleamed the ring that Josephine Richards had made of it ‘‘Ah,” he added, with a sigh, ‘‘it is hard to think that she could believe me so false—so treacherous and cowardly, as to win her love and then cast it aside as of no value. ” ‘‘ Yet it was very natural for her to think so under the cir- cumstances,’’ Ralph returned, thoughtfully. ‘‘ You must realize that yourself, for you say that on Saturday you declared your affection for her under the name of Archibald Sherbrooke, and won an expression of her own for you in return; while on the Monday following you appeared in Mr. Richards’ family as Lord Carrol, who, she had been told, was a suitor for his daughter's hand. It does not seem strange to me that she should think the very worst of you. You certainly were in a false position before her, and it must have been a severe blow to her pride as well as to her affection; for, as we have seen, Miss Gladstone is not lacking either in self-respect or spirit.” ‘No, I suppose it is not strange; but, oh! if she would but have given me one minute, I could have convinced her of her mistake, and all the sorrow that has followed might have been Gomicbooks (EO)