Stella Rosevelt — page 78: what you’re looking at

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

"2 A CONSULTATION. ‘©No, indeed.. I asked her what her father meant by his allusion to the service rendered you, and to which he referred in his letter, and she told me of course, though in a very modest way, that her mother once saved you from drowning. Now, I want you to change your tactics. I want you to allow her to be one of the family.” ‘<I never will do that, Mr. Richards, and it is useless for you to suggest it,” Mrs. Richards interrupted, hotly. ‘‘I could never endure the sight of the girl at my table after this, and Josephine, I know, would not consent to it. Any one can see by the course she has pursued to-night with you that she is full of art and intrigue, and would not hesitate to interfere with Josie’s plans and prospects.” “Oh, ho! you're afraid she will outshine Jo, are you?” laughed her husband, good-naturedly. ‘‘I should think one would set the other off, Star being so light and Jo so dark, and I should really enjoy seeing two pretty girls flitting about the house.” ‘‘T will never put Stella Gladstone on an equal footing with my daughter, so you can cease arguing upon that point,” re- iterated Mrs. Richards, with a positiveness that was not to be mistaken. ‘‘Tf you insist,” she continued, after a minute's thought, ‘“‘upon her being allowed to pursue her education, since she makes such a parade of being a bookworm, let her; I will not interfere. But Z insist, on the other hand, that she make her- ~ self useful. She must work about the house before and after school, and do something in return for her support—more than this I will not concede;” and Mr. Richards, having gained this point, considered that he had won quite a victory for his wife’s pretty ward. 3d ‘‘ Very well,” he said; ‘‘I presume she will be satisfied with this arrangement. She said she was willing to work if she might only be allowed to study.” (eo) Eomilcbooks